Healing Sands
by Hina-chancares8
Summary: Hinata is heart broken when she sees Naruto with Sakura. Now her new friend Temari has decided in order to make Hinata stronger that She will take Hinata to Suna to train. But will certain feelings arise for the new kazekage? Crap summary during time skip
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Okay although this is my third story**** but**** could we pretend this is my first one, please? With the other ones I lost confidence immediately took them down so please? By the way I'm to stupid to think of a tittle so any help would be great. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 1

White eyes slowly opened as the soft rays of dawn shone through the window. The young 13 year old sat up and stretched like a cat, and yawned. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, making the girl jump up.

"Hinata-sama?" Hinata's older cousin, Neji, asked through her bedroom door.

"H-h-hai?" Hinata stuttered nervously, although Hinata and Neji had smoothed everything over after his fight with Naruto their fight still haunted her in her dreams, never could she forget the hate that shone through his eyes.

"Your father wants to meet you in his office abou…" Neji started, but never finished as the door slid open and Hinata ran out fully clothed to her father's office.

Neji smiled and shook his head as he heard a loud thump from around the corner. Hinata, no matter how hard she tried could never, for the life of her stay calm when it came to talking with her father. Being the good cousin he was walked down the hall and turned to see Hinata blushing as she quickly stood up. He placed a hand on her shoulder, making the poor young heiress jump and look at him with wide deer-in-the-headlight eyes.

"Calm down, Hinata-sama. It's only about a mission," he said giving her a reassuring smile.

She returned it weakly, really, she appreciated everything Neji was doing and how hard he was trying to make their friendship work.

Finally she reached her father's office; knocking hesitantly she took two deep breaths to steady herself.

"Enter," her father's voice boomed, echoing down the blank and empty halls behind her.

With a shaking hand she slid open the door and bowed to her father from the doorway. He grunted in approval, Hinata entered her eyes glued to the floor.

"Hinata I have received a letter from Hokage-sama, she wishes for you to go to her office in about an hour. I wish for you to not only be on your best behavior, but also do not fail this mission no matter what," her father said in a monotone, glaring at his daughters bowed head. "Do you understand?"

"H-hai o-o-o-otou-sama," Hinata said, feeling her father's glare intensify with each time she stuttered.

"You are dismissed, oh and Hinata, if you fail don't even bother coming home," Hiashi snapped at his daughter before she could escape.

Hinata could feel the tears burning behind her eyes; quickly she tried to blink them away but with no result.

"Hai o-o-o-otou-sama," Hinata whispered before she shot out the door, bowing her head once to her father before disappearing down the hall.

She was about to disappear into the woods to release her tears, when she felt a tug on her jacket sleeve. Turning around she saw her sister looking at her concerned, Hannabi pulled her down a little and wrapped her small arms around her sister.

"Good luck, onee-sama," Hannabi whispered to her older sister, then releasing her.

One crystal like tear rolled down Hinata's cheek, and a small smile lit up the older Hyuuga's face. With a whispered 'thank you' the older girl was off, and ready to face anything the Hokage could throw at her. When she entered the office she could here shouting, when she realized who it was, her face went a bright shade of red. Naruto was again pestering the fifth Hokage for a mission to retrieve Sasuke. And of course as usual she denied it politely.

"SHUT THE HELL UP NARUTO! I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU A MISSION TO BRING BACK UCHIHA!" Tsunade shouted, her patience finally gone.

"But oba-chan!" Naruto whined. "I'm so bored! Besides," Naruto started getting serious. "I promised Sakura-chan that I would bring him back and I won't let her down!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples, not only was Narutos's stupid daily visits were taking a toll on her self control she really wanted to let him look for Sasuke. But Jariaya had made her promise that she would keep him until he was ready to take him off her hands. Purely out of habit she glanced at the clock on her wall, and a smile broke out onto her face. She would be meeting the Hyuuga in less than two minutes, and then Naruto would have to leave. Feeling her smile widen she realized that the young Hyuuga heiress was waiting outside the office.

"Naruto, I would really love to continue with this conversation," the Hokage said, sensing the Hyuuga tense up on the outside of the door. "But I believe that I must talk with someone. Come on in Hinata, don't be shy!"

Slowly the Hyuuga heiress turned the knob and shuffled into the office. Her head down, and fingers poking together nervously.

"Hi Hinata-chan!" Naruto cried.

"H-h-hello N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, her head still down.

"You see Naruto Hinata is going to be assigned a mission and you need to leave so I can de-brief her," Tsunade said, ushering Hinata to sit in front of her.

"Fine," Naruto 'humphed' and pouted. "But I'll be back later oba-chan, believe it! Oh and good luck Hinata-chan!" Naruto added before he left the office with as much of a bang as he had entered.

"Finally," Tsunade breathed. "So are you ready for your mission Hinata-chan?" she asked, a bright smile now on the Hokage's face.

"H-h-hai T-T-Tsunade-sama," Hinata stuttered, for the first time actually looking up at the Hokage.

"Good, good, your mission is to escort the new sand ambassador around Konoha for the next week, do you think you can handle it?" Tsunade asked still smiling at the poor girl.

"H-hai, demo, T-Tsunade-sama, doesn't S-s-s-shikamaru-san usually d-do i-i-i-t?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Yeah but I have him doing a special mission," Tsunade said, picturing the lazy genius filing all her paper work. "Anyway it's time to meet the ambassador! Please come in!"

The door to the Hokage's office swung open revealing a tall girl with four blonde pigtails that jutted out at odd angles on her head, and a giant fan attached to her back.

"Hinata-chan, please meet Temari-san, she is the new ambassador from Suna," Tsunade said smiling.

**A/N: Well that's the first chapter but I'm not very confident about it so some reviews would be greatly appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay well this went over better than I expected! I'm here to give you another chapter but I want to say that I really appreciate all the people who have reviewed my story because they have no idea how much it means to me.**** Oh and this chapter is in Temari's POV.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 2**

Temari walked into the Hokage office, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the fidgeting girl closest to her. She fought a scowl, and instead put on an obviously fake smile. Although she would gladly admit that the very sight of this girl made her want to scoff, she promised that she would do this for Shikamaru. Even if it was just to prove him wrong.

_Flashback_

_ Temari was heading to the Hokage tower as quickly as she could without drawing any attention to herself amongst __civilians. She wanted to begin walking through Konoha, it's not that the leaf village really impressed __her;__ to be honest she secretly wanted to talk with the most lazy genius __she had ever met. But she would never say that out loud, she was way to prideful, living with two brothers does that to you sometimes.__ She was pulled from her thoughts went she felt the grip of a familiar jutsu. Her eyes turned to slits as she glared at __S__hikamaru who stood in front of her, arms at his sides and a smirk on his face. Their shadow was now morphed together creating a long one._

_ "Shadow possession jutsu, clearly you wanted my attention you lazy idiot now tell me what you want and why you aren't waiting for me at the Hokage tower." Temari said, after the shadow dissipated. _

_ "Troublesome," he sighed as Temari walked up to him. "Well this is about that. As it turns out I won't be your guide this time around," he continued hands behind his head as they leisurely walked to the tower._

_ "What!" Temari almost shouted in shock and partial anger._

_ "Wow, I didn't think you would take it so hard," Shikamaru mumbled a smirk on his face._

_ Temari blushed and didn't reply, she honestly had nothing to say, she couldn't confirm it or deny it. That was what she got from hanging around this lazy ass. _

_ "Amazing I actually struck the big mouth speechless," Shikamaru said, feeling a little awkward._

_ "What was that dumb ass?!" Temari yelled, recovering from his earlier comment._

_ "Nothing," Shikamaru chuckled. "Anyway I was sent to talk to you about your new guide. It's a genin girl named Hinata Hyuuga."_

_ "Wait," Temari said, stopping him before he could continue. "Hyuuga? Why does that sound so familiar?"_

_ "She was the little girl who was beaten by her cousin during the Chunin exams," Shikamaru replied, refreshing her memory._

_ "Oh, you mean that poor little pale weakling that was beaten shitless?" Temari asked scowling at the memory, of such a pitiful excuse for a Kunoichi._

_ "Hey now be nice, but yeah that's the one," Shikamaru replied._

_ "Yeah well she was nearly killed and she's gonna be leading me around? How pitiful I might as well lead myself around." Temari spat._

_ "She isn't that weak," Shikamaru said. "Besides looks can be deceiving."_

_ "Yeah well to me she looks like a pampered little princess who__ has a million friends and expects everyone to give a shit about her problems," Temari concluded._

_ "Wow Temari, I thought you were stupid, but now I know you really are stupid," Shikamaru said shaking his head. _

_ "What do you mean I'm stupid!?" Temari cried, but Shikamaru ignored her question._

_ "Hinata is about the exact opposite of that. She's kind and cares about everyone even though half of us don't deserve it.__ Although she is surrounded by people all of the time she is very distant, and even though every other girl was drooling over Uchiha she had eyes for dead last Naruto," Shikamaru replied shaking his head. "She brings out the best__ in__ people in yet she has no friends, and her family treats her like dirt. We all know __it in yet we're all afraid of getting to close. She used to come to my house everyday when her mother was still alive to get powdered deer horn for her medicines, in yet I never spoke to her and sometimes I regret it."_

_ "So? What's your point?" Temari asked, playing stupid, when she heard about this girls misfortune, a small, very small part of her wanted to feel bad for her, but the other part told her not to waste a single second thinking about such a weakling._

_ "You're so troublesome, I wouldn't even be doing this if the girls hadn't forced me to," Shikamaru said emotionless. "They want you to be nice to her, try to be her friend and stuff like that."_

_ "Why would I want to be friends with her? I mean I'm not sensitive or any of that crap!" Temari wondered aloud._

_ "That's exactly __what I told them, I kne__w __you'd fail__," Shikamaru said, agreeing with her._

_ "Fail! What do you mean fail!?" Temari yelled, angry._

_ "You wouldn't be able to make friends with Hinata even if your life depended on it," Shikamaru said, suppressing a smile._

_ "Oh yeah!? Well__we'll see about that!" Temari cried and stomped away from Shikamaru angrily._

_ "That was troublesome," Shikamaru sighed as he continued on his way at his own pace. 'But oh so worth it!' he thought. _

_End flashback_

So now here was Temari staring down at the Hyuuga girl, with a fake smile, practically scaring the girl half to death.

'Damn Shikamaru' she thought. 'This will be harder than I thought.'

"Hinata right?" Temari asked, receiving a small nod from the girl. "I'm Temari, shall we get going?"

Temari received another nod, but the girl didn't move. Without meaning to Temari glared at her, making Hinata stand abruptly.

'Alright' Temari thought, following Hinata out of the office. 'A lot harder'

**A/N: Okay that's the second chapter; I hope you all liked it and review. I know it was a really long flash back, but I thought it worked really worked out. So anyway R and R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter contrary to my last story! I am so grateful! I would like to give special thanks to a few people.**

**gust-rider****: Wow that was the funniest review I have gotten and so sweet! So here I'm updating! **

**Ayesha****Raees****a.k.a****Mrs. Uchiha: Thanks so much! Oh and Sasuke will be coming in later, along with a few other characters. **

**And to anybody else I might have forgotten, I really appreciate all your reviews and I'm glad you all have taken the time to read it!**** Oh and this chapters in Hinata's POV**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto **

**Chapter 3**

Hinata followed Temari, like a little puppy, obediently and quietly. Suddenly she bumped into something hard, her head shot up and that was when she realized Temari had stopped.

"A-a-ano, Temari-san?" Hinata asked.

"Um aren't you supposed to be showing me around?" Temari asked, looking over her shoulder at the Hyuuga girl.

"Oh uh! G-g-g-g-gomen T-temari-san!" Hinata stuttered, and walked a little ways in front of her.

Hinata kept her eyes glued to the ground and began to walk, Temari following closely behind. Suddenly the painful words of her father hit her again and Hinata almost began to cry, and stopped without even realizing it. An irritated sigh from behind her told Hinata that she was doing exactly what she had promised herself she wouldn't do, fail. She wiped her tears away and faced Temari with a smile.

"S-so T-t-temari-san w-what would y-y-y-ou like to d-do today?" Hinata asked graciously.

"Well, how about you show me your favorite places? Usually all Shikamaru does is stare up at the clouds," Temari said, looking thoughtful.

"Alright, p-p-please follow m-me T-t-temari-san!" Hinata said, and that began their first day.

They spent all morning going to Hinata's favorite places, like a small tea shop where everyone seemed to know Hinata. Then they went to lunch at Hinata's favorite restaurant, but afterwards they had nothing to do.

"U-uh T-Temari-san, d-d-do you mind i-if I t-t-t-trained? " Hinata asked, nervously, the rest of her favorite places were in the wilderness anyway, and she didn't want to skip training.

"Hai, Hyuuga-san, I think that is something we'll both enjoy," Temari said, giving Hinata a real smile.

Temari had found herself getting more and more comfortable around the Hyuuga girl, and realized that she was extremely easy to get along with.

'Maybe this friendship will work out after all' Temari thought, she didn't have many friends either, considering one brother was rumored a homicidal maniac and the other was a pervert who wears make up.

Hinata seemed to not show any fear when it came to people like Gaara, or hold any grudges, she had forgiven her cousin and they were on the slow path to recovering their lost friendship. She had also thought that it would be a complete disaster when she tried to make friends with the blonde and found it increasingly easy.

So the days went by with Hinata and Temari training together, and their friendship grew. But one day their training was disrupted. Hinata was going through the familiar steps of the gentle fist style while Temari sat on the ground taking a break when they heard a rustle from the bushes.

"T-temari-san, d-did you hear t-t-that?" Hinata asked, pausing in her gentle fist stance to stare at her blonde friend.

"Yeah Hinata-san, I heard it," She replied, standing and pulling out her fan. "Whoever you are come out or I'll blow you into oblivion."

There was no reply, and Temari nodded towards Hinata, who immediately started the familiar signs for activating her Byakugan. Before she could even finish all the seals, a familiar blonde boy fell out of the bush and onto to the ground followed by a pink haired Kunoichi.

"Gomen, Temari-san, Hinata-san!" Sakura said, bowing to the two girls in respect. "Naruto-baka here, wanted to try and scare you two." She continued putting her foot on Naruto's head.

"Aww Sakura-chan you ruin all the fun! Besides, they wouldn't have hurt me, right Hinata-chan?' Naruto asked with a huge grin.

"N-n-naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped, her face starting to turn red.

"Was there something you needed, Naruto-san, Sakura-san? Me and Hinata-san have been training and we wish to get back to it," Temari replied, knowing that Hinata would never be able to speak to Naruto, without fear of passing out.

"Hey!' Naruto shouted, jumping up, knocking Sakura over who had her foot on his head. "I can visit Hinata-chan anytime I want, she's my friend! Right Hinata-chan?" Naruto said, giving his attention to the red faced girl. "Hey Hinata-chan are you feeling okay? Your face is awfully red."

Naruto started to approach Hinata, the Hyuuga heiress was to afraid and didn't know exactly what to do. Luckily, Temari and Sakura both acted at the same time, Temari stepped in front of Hinata Shielding her from view. While Sakura grabbed Naruto in a head lock and started chocking him for knocking her on the ground.

"Excuse me, Sakura-san, Naruto-san, what was so important that you had to seek us out?' temari asked, getting more and more annoyed by the gagging blonde.

"Oh gomen!" Sakura said, releasing Naruto, who fell to the ground gasping.

Pulling a scroll out of her thigh pouch, Sakura held it out. Temari cautiously grabbed and opened it.

"What is this?" Temari asked looking over the scroll.

"It's actually for Hinata-san," Sakura stated, when Naruto finally regained his breath.

"Yeah she completed her mission and that's the notice that tomorrow instead of meeting at the Hokage tower she's off," Naruto said.

"Well that was all Temari-san, Hinata-san, have a good day, come on Naruto-baka!" Sakura said; bidding farewell to her fellow Kunoichi's while dragging Naruto away.

Hinata and Temari stood there silently until Naruto's cries of pain were no longer heard; Hinata slowly pulled the scroll from Temari's hands and read it.

"Oh, it s-s-seems that S-s-s-shikamaru-san is d-done with his o-o-other m-mission," Hinata said quietly while reading over the scroll again.

"What?" Temari asked turning to read over Hinata's shoulder.

"S-s-so it seems t-t-that I h-have c-c-completed m-my mission, ne T-t-t-temari-chan?" Hinata asked, summoning all of her courage to add the small sign of friendship at the end of Temari's name.

"Hai, Hinata-chan," Temari said, returning the friendship. "Let's get some ice cream later, my treat okay?"

"Oh n-no T-t-temari-chan! I c-c-couldn't possibly l-l-let y-you…" Hinata started.

"You can and you will, now get back into your fighting stance, and let's see what you Hyuuga's can do!" Temari replied smiling.

Later that afternoon right before sunset Temari and Hinata were seen walking each holding an ice cream. Temari was keeping the conversation going, while Hinata licked her ice cream and listened to the stories with mild interest. Finally there talk came to an abrupt stop and neither had anything to say, then a thought hit Temari.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, so you like Naruto right?" Temari asked a smirk on her face.

Within seconds the Hyuuga became a red stuttering mess and Temari laughed. After a few minutes Hinata realized Temari was teasing her, and it didn't take long for her to come up with her own witty comeback.

"W-well T-temari-chan, don't y-y-you like S-shikamaru-san?' Hinata asked, silencing the blonde quickly.

Now it was Hinata's turn to laugh, Temari's face was a light pink and she wouldn't look at Hinata.

"G-gomen T-temari-chan if I e-e-embarrassed you!" Hinata said worried that Temari might be mad at her.

"Yeah, it's fine, besides I started it!" Temari replied laughing it off.

Before they knew it, they were right in front of the Hyuuga manor, and Hinata was saying good bye.

"Holy…Hinata-chan is this really your house?!" Temari asked, awed, she had never seen Hinata's house before; usually they would part at the training grounds each going their separate ways.

"H-hai," Hinata said, a little embarrassed for not showing it to her.

"Wow," Temari replied, before turning toward the direction of the inn she was staying at. "It was fun hanging out with you Hinata-chan; I guess I'll see you around."

"H-hai, hopefully," Hinata said looking at the ground as Temari began walking away. "W-wait T-temari-chan!" She cried, making Temari stop and look at her. "Thank you f-for being m-my f-friend."

"Yeah, thanks for being my friend to Hinata-chan," Temari said, and with that she was gone.

**A/N: Really boring chapter, I just wanted to show their relationship building and stuff so yeah the next chapter will be more eventful. Again sorry it was so boring. But still please read and review. I'm starting the next chapter right after this because it was so boring.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow, thanks again for all the reviews! My original goal for this story was 20 reviews and ****thanks to you guys I'm almost there! I'm so glad you guys didn't find the last chapter really boring! I'll try to make this chapter longer, but I don't know if I can. By the way gust-rider, I think Gaara looks really cute in that panda costume!! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 4**

Hinata awoke the next morning, with nothing to do. She sighed and sat up, although she was delighted she had done her mission well she was still pretty upset knowing that the rest of the day would be spent training alone. A knock on her door startled her so much that she fell off the bed and onto the floor. Neji, being the one who knocked, heard the familiar thump and almost started to laugh.

"Hinata-sama, are you okay?" Neji asked, not being able to hold in a small smile.

"H-h-hai N-neji-ni-san!" Hinata squeaked getting to her knees.

"Are you sure? That sounded like a pretty bad fall, Hinata-sama," Neji, said with a slightly teasing tone.

"N-neji! A-a-are y-you joking with m-me?" Hinata asked, with false astonishment.

"Yes," Neji admitted. "Hinata-sama, my I come in?"

"H-h-hai! J-just w-wait one s-second!" Hinata cried getting up, and running to her closet and getting dressed.

A moment later the door was opened and Hinata led Neji into her room. They both situated themselves on cushions across from each other, and an awkward silence spread over them. Hinata shifted uncomfortably, and Neji for once kept his eyes lowered, until he finally remembered why he came to her in the first place.

"Hinata-sama, I was asked by one of the maids if I could go into town today to buy a few things, I was wondering if you would like to come to. I thought you might like to since you have the day off and I know how boring training alone can be, since Kiba and Shino are on a mission," Neji replied.

"A-arigotou n-n-ni-san, of course I'll c-come," Hinata said, a smile spreading across her face.

"Alright Hinata-sama," Neji replied smiling also. "We'll be leaving shortly; I'll meet you down stairs in the main hall."

"H-hai ni-san," Hinata said closing the door behind Neji.

Neji gave himself a mental pat on his back as he walked down the hall. He was proud that he was able to interact with his cousin so calmly, and her to react equally calm. A few minutes later Hinata saw Neji waiting for her at the front door and she immediately got nervous.

"G-g-g-gomen, N-n-n-neji-ni-san," Hinata stuttered with her head down as she began to slide on her shoes.

"For what Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, almost hitting himself for scaring her again.

"Y-y-you had t-to w-wait f-for m-me, g-g-gomen," Hinata said, sadly and quietly.

"No Hinata-sama really it's okay, I may still be learning to be more patient, but I was waiting at all that long for you so don't worry, about it okay?" Neji said, realizing it and almost smiling at her ignorance and innocence.

"R-really?" Hinata asked standing and looking at him with hopeful eyes as they stepped out of the house.

"Yes, really," He said opening the front gate for her.

"A-arigotou n-ni-san," Hinata, said happily, then without warning she hugged him.

Neji didn't know what to do, clearly not accustomed to hugging, patted her back awkwardly. After a moment or two she pulled away, a light blush covering her smiling face.

"L-let's go n-ni-san," Hinata said, starting to walk forward, a confused Neji following her.

They spent all morning shopping for the things they needed back at their manor, they stayed relatively quiet.

"This is our last stop okay, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked as they stood outside a tiny little shop.

"Okay, w-what f-f-for ni-san?" Hinata asked, knowing that this store doesn't have anything they would need for the compound.

"Well, I uh special ordered something for Tenten for her birthday; Gai said we had to be friendlier with each other so we are forced to get each other birthday gifts," Neji said, not looking at Hinata.

"O-okay n-ni-san, gomen i-if I e-e-embarrassed y-you," Hinata murmured, holding in a giggle.

They walked into the shop and Neji immediately went to the front desk to pick up the gift, while Hinata wandered the store aimlessly. Nothing really caught her eye until she turned down the next aisle. There on the shelf sat a small plush fax with a small collar around its neck and a name tag. It was red with big blue eyes and on the nametag in fancy curly black writing it said Ramen. Hinata's eyes lit up with happiness and she grabbed it from its shelf, she ran up to the store counter just as Neji was done paying and set it down.

"I can tell that this is going to be a gift for someone special right?" the store clerk asked, as Hinata stood there, a huge smile on her face.

"H-hai, s-s-someone v-very special t-to m-me," Hinata looked down when she said the last part, her face turning an interesting shade of red.

"Well here," the clerk said handing the fox, now neatly wrapped in a small box, to Hinata.

"B-b-but, h-h-how m-much d-does it c-cost?" Hinata asked, reaching in her coat pocket for some money.

"Aww, nothing. It's free of charge okay?" the clerk said smiling.

"I-I-I c-couldn't do t-that!" Hinata said, trying to give the clerk some money.

"I don't want your money," the clerk said, and then thinking for a moment came up with an alternative. "Promise me that you will give the fox to this person with no regrets, make sure you show them your feelings, and become a better person because of it. Do you think you can do that?"

Hinata smiled at the clerk and nodded, tears pricking at her eyelids because of this strangers kindness and understanding.

"Good, then that's all I want from you," the clerk replied. "Now get going, and give it to them!"

"H-hai, a-a-arigotou!" Hinata cried, as she walked out of the shop Neji following closely behind.

They began to walk home in silence, Neji thinking about why she bought the fox and Hinata about how to present the fox.

"It's for Naruto isn't it?" Neji asked, catching Hinata off guard.

"H-hai," she whispered her face tomato red.

"He's at his team's training grounds, I wish you good luck Hinata-sama," Neji said as they reached the turn to the Hyuuga manor.

"N-n-ni-san, how…" Hinata asked, but stopped when Neji stared at her with Byakugan blazing.

"Be brave Hinata," Neji replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry I won't be far."

With that Neji left Hinata standing there, box clasped tightly in hand, and face a bright cherry color. After standing there a few moments, she mustered up all her courage and rushed to team 7's training grounds, silently thanking Neji in her head. **(A/N: okay here is where things might get a bit confusing so just let me know okay?)**

When Temari went to the Hokage tower the next morning she was in for a big surprise; Shikamaru was waiting for her in all his lazy glory.

"What are you doing here lazy ass?" Temari asked.

"Troublesome woman, I'm here to be your guide for the rest of your stay in Konoha," Shikamaru said, and if she looked close enough there was a faint blush on his face.

"Oh I see, you missed me," Temari said, smirking in triumph. "Fine then, you can lead me around Konoha, starting with the training grounds."

"But those are on the other side of the village," Shikamaru said, not understanding at first. **(A/N: yeah right there he's kinda slow, but that's okay!)**

"Exactly," Temari said, leading the way out the door, Shikamaru finally following her with a mumbled 'troublesome woman' that didn't go unnoticed.

Sakura was walking around Konoha alone, as she usually did since Sasuke left. Her mind raced over thoughts of her feelings towards Sasuke and Naruto. She also thought about all the people that would be affected by her decision. Finally she thought she could make up her mind, with a small smile on her face she raced to the training grounds where she knew Naruto would be.

Neji rushed into the Hyuuga manor, the groceries in hand. He placed them on the counter and headed out the back door.

"Neji-ni-san, why are you in such a hurry?" Hannabi asked, as her cousin raced across the grounds.

"Gomen, Hannabi-sama, I can't talk right now," Neji called behind him.

Hiashi sat not too far from Neji as he saw him running past. His brow furrowed and he called his nephew over.

"Hai, Hiashi-sama?" Neji asked, barely able to restrain the annoyance in his voice.

"I will train you today Neji," Hiashi said.

Neji thought about it for a minute, being able to beat that smug bastard into the ground was so tempting. But then, just as he was about to accept he remembered what he said to Hinata, he had promised himself to rebuild their friendship. If he wasn't there for her now he knew it would never be fixed.

"G-gomen uncle, but can we train some other time?" Neji asked, concentrating so hard on his objective he didn't even notice the stutter.

"Why Neji? What is more important than training with an elder? Who is the cause of this distraction?' Hiashi asked anger evident.

Neji thought for a moment, deciding he would choose his words carefully.

"My main objective set by the Hyuuga clan, is that I am to protect Hinata-sama at all costs. I believe that her safety may be compromised at this point in time, I must go now, to make sure I am fulfilling my duties not only as Hinata-sama's guardian but also as her cousin." Neji concluded, itching to leave.

"If you sacrifice this opportunity to train with me now for that weakling then there will be a punishment, are you still willing?" Hiashi asked, harshly.

"Yes I am uncle," Neji said, anger rushing through his veins. "Hinata-sama is my cousin, my own flesh and blood, I am her protector, and I will accept any punishment."

Not another word was spoken as Neji disappeared, and the Hyuuga gardens were silent and still. Then without warning a deep laugh filled the air, after a few minutes Hiashi calmed himself. A small smile still present, as he went to find Hannabi, to begin her training for the day.

Hinata finally made it to the training grounds and found Naruto as usual training as hard as he could. Just looking at him from the bush she was hiding in made her face turn beet red. She thought it had been great that she was able to make it there without any regret, but it was too good to be true, now the doubts came full force.

'It was a stupid idea to get him a fox,' Hinata thought as she continued to watch. 'He's not a girl, and I don't think I could ever tell him that I got it because it reminded me of him.'

Her thoughts were broken when Sakura walked into the clearing, Naruto didn't even seem to notice as he continued with his training.

"Naruto," Sakura said, getting no reply. "Naruto," she said again, a little louder. "NARUTO!"

Naruto finally turned at the harsh voice, Sakura was standing there face red and ears steaming in anger.

"Oh hi Sakura-chan! What's up?" Naruto asked, making Sakura's anger dissipate.

"Naruto, I want to talk to you…about Sasuke," Sakura said, her eyes downcast as Naruto's expression hardened.

Hinata debated with herself from inside the bush, they were about to talk about something that was really personal. Her body told her to stay, while her heart told her to go, to bad her body won. So she sat crouched in the bush listening to them talk about Sasuke.

"Sakura, I will find him, I promise you," Naruto said, walking towards Sakura and putting his hands on her shoulders.

Sakura began to cry and pushed herself against Naruto as her sobs continued. Naruto acted as if this wasn't anything new and rubbed comforting circles on her back. Hinata was feeling her heart sink, she really wanted to leave now, but her legs wouldn't let her.

"Naruto I'm sorry!" Sakura sobbed into his shoulder.

"What are you sorry for Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously, pulling away to look her in the face.

"I just can't decide, I still love Sasuke and I think I love you," Sakura continued.

Hinata was vaguely aware that her heart had just stopped; her hands on the present tightened and made the box cave in, ripping the beautiful paper. Unaware of all this Hinata started to bite her lip, fighting the urge to go in the clearing and tell Naruto right in front of Sakura.

"W-what Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, not believing his ears.

"I s-said I think I love you, but Naruto will you really be able to except my love? Even if I give it to someone else later?" Sakura asked, still teary eyed.

Hinata held her breath, teeth still gnawing on her bottom lip, by this time she had ripped the present open, holding the plush fox between her hands.

"I will always accept your love, Sakura," Naruto said, leaning closer to her face.

Eyes closed, Hinata prayed that this was just a dream, but when she opened them there the two teammates stood, lips locked in the middle of the training ground. Blood slid down Hinata's chin, she had pierced her lip with her teeth, and now her mouth was quivering as the tears began to well in her eyes. She made the bush shake a little making the two well trained ninja's pull apart and stare at the bush. Sakura stayed pressed against Naruto's chest, as he drew a kunai, and threw it at the bush Hinata was hiding in. After the kunai was thrown Hinata just lost it, she crawled out from the bushes and began to run as fast she could, blind as the tears continued to flow, without even knowing it dropping the fox.

"You check the bushes Naruto, I'll chase them if they got away," Sakura said, before disappearing.

Naruto walked over to the bush, he saw his kunai lying on the ground, next to it a few drops of blood, and next to that laid a torn open box and a plush fox. He bent down and picked it up, he looked at the collar and read the name, and he smiled. Picking up his kunai, he contemplated getting actual ramen as he put the fox in his pouch.

Sakura continued to pursue the person who was watching; finally she was close enough to see the back of their head. Familiar indigo locks bounced as the person kept running. The pink haired girl sopped, when she recognized who the person was.

"Gomen, Hinata-san," Sakura whispered as a tear slowly rolled down her face.

Hinata kept running, her hand unconsciously clenching the area near her heart. Pain shot through her chest, making her slow down. It almost felt like she was fighting Neji all over again, soon she reached the road and had slowed down to a walk, hand still against her chest. Temari and Shikamaru happened to be walking down that road, when they saw Hinata, Temari grinned.

"Hinata-chan!" Hey over hear Hinata!" Temari called, waving her hand in the air, as Shikamaru just stood there looking at Hinata.

Slowly Hinata turned to Temari, her face pale and tear worn, Temari's smile faded and her hand fell to her side. Shikamaru looked harder at Hinata, as if trying to make sure that was still her. Neji, who was walking along the same path as the other two, saw them stopped, and walked over to them.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, not even noticing his cousin.

"What do you mean what's wrong? Your cousin is…" Temari began, but stopped as Shikamaru quickly preformed his shadow technique as Hinata began to fall.

Shikamaru began to run at Hinata, making her do the same, right before they were about to collide he released the jutsu and caught her before she fell. He knelt, the other two quickly doing the same. Hinata's face was twisted in pain, and she was to weak to even speak, in yet the tears rolled from her eyes.

"Hinata-chan," can you hear me?!" Temari cried frantically, getting no response.

"Hinata-sama?! Please answer us Hinata-sama!" Neji cried also.

Hinata's eyes rolled and focused on Shikamaru, he looked down at her concerned, his hand pressed against her heart.

"I f-f-f-feel l-like I'm d-d-d-dying," she whispered before her eyes closed, and didn't open again.

"Hinata!" Temari and Neji cried in unison.

The small pale Hyuuga girl, writhed and whimpered, before her mouth open and she coughed, blood splattering her jacket and Shikamaru's hand.

"Quick," Shikamaru said, picking Hinata up. "We have to get her to the hospital now."

"Why?! Is she going to be alright? Hinata-sama!" Neji, cried.

"Yeah, Shikamaru, is she going to be okay?" Temari asked as they began to race toward the hospital.

"Honestly I don't know," Shikamaru replied, shifting Hinata so it would be easier to carry her.

"But I thought you were supposed to be a genius!" Temari cried, angrily.

"Sorry Temari, I don't know everything!" Shikamaru shouted, partly blaming himself for Hinata's condition.

"Well if it's as serious as you say, let's move faster," Neji put in.

The rest of the trip was silent, except for the occasional bloody cough, from the broken hearted Kunoichi.

**A/N:**** Yeah well that took forever, so sorry! This chapter is longer than the rest so I hope that's good enough! Remember if you get confused just tell me and I'll try to explain it better for you! And don't worry Gaara lovers he'll be coming in around the next two chapters okay! So please as usual read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay everyone I'm back! Again I apologize if the last chapter confused you! I promise this one won't talk about any medical stuff. Naruto/Hinata fans, sorry about the last chapter but there will be a small romantic part for them in this chapter for compensation.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 5

The low constant beeping of the heart monitor was the first thing Hinata heard when she was returning to consciousness. Then slowly the faint beeps were replaced by her cousin's monstrous snores next to her. Hinata could tell she was in the hospital, the sterile smell made her nauseous when she inhaled it too much. She didn't even open her eyes, her heart still ached and her legs were sore, another tear rolled down her face. Everything that had happened was cemented in her mind, and even when she woke up she had wished she was dead instead of having to face the ache of heart break. The door to the hospital room was opened, and then closed softly; a loud laugh stopped her cousin's snores.

"Well what do you know? The Hyuuga genius snores like a horse!" Temari's familiar loud voice penetrated through the still room.

"I do not snore Temari-san," Neji said, coolly and calmly while he recomposed himself.

"Yes you do," Temari said bluntly, pulling a chair over next to Hinata's bed making Hinata flinch at the loud scraping noise while keeping her eyes closed.

"No I do not, Temari-san," Neji said, his voice rising slightly.

"And I'm telling you, you do," Temari said, matching his angry tone.

"I think I would know if I do Temari-san," Neji said, getting aggravated.

"How? You can't hear when you're asleep!" Temari cried, not even bothering to keep her voice down.

Hinata, sensing Neji's retort, quickly spoke instead, almost as aggravated as the other two, her stutter gone completely.

"Yes Neji, you snore like a horse now both of you stop arguing!" Hinata spat, her heart throbbing with pain.

The other two occupants of the room stared at the lump under the covers silently, Neji with a stunned look, and Temari mirroring him except with a small glint of pride in her eyes. Suddenly Hinata sat up, with a horrified look and tears of guilt sprang to her eyes, and replaced her tears of pain.

"G-g-g-gomen Neji-ni-san, T-t-t-temari-chan," Hinata sobbed, falling back onto the hospital bed, and muffling her sobs with a pillow.

During the whole commotion nobody noticed Tsunade had entered the room, she looked at the sobbing girl in the bed and then at her two visitors who looked at each other waiting for an idea of what to do. Tsunade finally done with watching the two pathetic ninja's cleared her throat, making everyone jump.

"I think you two should leave, I told you before, Hinata just had a heart attack. It was nothing to worry about now both of you, leave." Tsunade replied approaching the bed, and gently tugging the pillow away from Hinata.

"But Tsunade-sama!" both Neji and Temari cried in unison, as she checked Hinata's vitals.

"I won't ask again, leave," Tsunade yelled angrily, earning a whimper from Hinata who was still being looked over.

Without another word Temari and Neji left the room. Tsunade sighed and continued the check up in silence. After she was done she took a seat next to her bed and sighed tiredly.

"So Hinata-chan, you can leave at anytime, okay?" Tsunade said, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"H-hai, T-t-tsunade-sama," Hinata replied weakly, as she swung her feet over the bed.

Just then a loud voice of a familiar blonde filled the empty quiet corridor outside Hinata's room. Tsunade glared at the door, when she heard Naruto yell, she turned just in time to see Hinata fall to the floor. She leapt from her chair and ran over to the girl, her hand found the emergency call button, and she could hear the nurses scrambling to get ready. Slowly she turned Hinata over on her back, and lifted her onto the bed, and noticed the tears that spilled down her cheeks even in unconsciousness.

"Oh Hinata, what's wrong with you?" Tsunade asked, the silence being her only reply as the door banged open and nurses filled the room.

Temari and Neji had been sitting in the waiting room together in an awkward silence. Neji was about to excuse himself when he saw the two people he never wanted to see near his cousin again walk into the room.

"Excuse me but can you tell us what room Hinata Hyuuga is in please?" Sakura asked the woman at the desk, her and Naruto not even noticing the other two, obviously glaring occupants of the room.

"Yes, she's in room 15, just down the hall and to the right," the nurse said, kind of pointing the way.

"Thank you!" Sakura said, as she was being pulled towards the room by Naruto.

"Come on Sakura-chan! I want to make sure Hinata-chan is okay!" Naruto whined.

"Alright! Naruto-baka," Sakura said, as they began to walk down the hall.

Neji was about to get up and kick the shit out of Naruto, but someone beat him to it. Temari had crumpled up a page of an old magazine, and threw the ball shaped paper, and hit Naruto right in the back of the head.

"WHAT THE HELLWAS THAT FOR!?" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto-baka! This is a hospital!" Sakura hissed punching him on the head.

"BUT SAKURA-CHAN SHE THREW SOMETHING AT ME!" Naruto, yelled again.

"Shut up, Uzamaki," Temari said, standing and pulling her fan from behind her.

"Temari-san, what is the meaning of this?" Sakura asked, trying to control her anger.

"I won't let you see Hinata-chan; you'll only cause more trouble!" Temari snapped instead of answering Sakura's question.

The pink haired girl looked down at the floor, her hands wringing guiltily, she stayed silent, where Naruto in the other hand was ready to retort.

"YOU CAN'T BOSS US AROUND! WE CAN GO SEE HINATA-CHAN IF WE WANT TO! WE'RE HER FRIENDS!" Naruto yelled, angry because of Sakura's hurt expression.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm afraid I can't let you see Hinata-sama either." Neji said, fixing a glare on Naruto.

Thus the shouting match began, and lasted for little more than a few seconds. All commotion stopped when they saw the nurses rushing to Hinata's room. Then all four ninja's banded together to try and push their way into the room. They only stopped when Tsunade came out of the room and threatened them, that if they wouldn't sit down that she would do something terrible and unique to each of them. So now Naruto, Neji, Temari, and Sakura sat in the waiting room in silence, as they waited for Tsunade to give them the okay to go into the room.

Hinata awoke again, this time only one person was in her room. She slowly sat up, and stared at Tsunade who stood next to the bed, a small exhausted smile on her face.

"You gave us quite a scare Hinata!" Tsunade said laughing. "Is there anything you would like to talk about?" she asked, her laughter ceasing.

Hinata just shook her head no, not trusting her voice, she didn't want to lie to her, but the pain was all too fresh. Tsunade nodded and stood, as she was about to walk to the door, she turned to look at the Hyuuga heiress.

"Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked, watching the pale girl stiffen.

"H-hai T-tsunade-sama?" Hinata stuttered, a fake smile plastered to her face.

"You gave him your heart Hinata," Tsunade said, a sad smile spreading across her face when she saw her become even paler. "Now it's up to you, to take it back."

With that Tsunade left, and Hinata's shoulders shook as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

When Tsunade walked into the waiting room she was bombarded with concerned ninja.

"Alright alright! Calm down all of you!" Tsunade said, raising her voice just enough for them to know she was serious. "Neji, you may now go in to see your cousin," she said, giving into his pleading look. "As for the rest of you I suggest you all go home and come back another time."

Neji smiled gratefully and rushed into Hinata's hospital room, Temari gave the Hokage a single glare that promised she would be back. Sakura nodded her head and reached to pull Naruto away to, when he started to whine.

"Demo, Oba-chan! I want to make sure Hinata-chan is okay!" Naruto replied.

"Ahh but Naruto, if you stay here I can't give you my newest mission," Tsunade said, patting his head.

"Really?" Naruto asked, excited

"Yes really Naruto," Tsunade said, and with that they all left the hospital to discus Naruto's new mission.

Days passed and Hinata still stayed at the hospital, she was silent and didn't eat anything. It had gotten so bad that Tsunade had to have nutrition pumped into her, she pretended to be asleep whenever anyone came to visit her. Her mind was filled with hopes of death as she lay there, enduring her days. A week had passed when she received a visit from Temari.

Temari burst into the room and strode to the bed, she pulled down the covers and opened the blinds on the window, making Hinata shudder at the sudden warm light she hadn't seen in what felt like forever. Next she walked over to the bed and pulled Hinata into a sitting position and pulled a chair next to the bed. Hinata looked at her and then slowly slid down to her pillows, hiding her face from Temari's intense gaze.

"That's enough Hinata," Temari snapped ripping the pillow away from Hinata's iron grip. "Stop wasting your life here! Quit feeling sorry for yourself and move on!"

"You d-d-don't understand T-t-t-temari-chan, Naruto-kun was m-my l-life! Now that h-he's gone I h-h-have nothing t-to live f-for!" Hinata cried, her eyes not being able to produce anymore tears.

What about me? What about Neji? What about your sister, and all the other people that care about you? We're worried about you!" Temari said, crossing her arms.

When she received no reply, her hands fell to her sides again and she sighed in defeat.

"Hinata, do you want Naruto to notice you?" Temari asked, gaze softening at the glimmer of hope that flashed across the Hyuuga's eyes.

"H-hai," Hinata stuttered, looking more alive than she had in weeks.

"Will you do anything for him?" Temari asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it from her.

"H-hai anything," Hinata said, her cold frail hands clasping together tightly.

"Then I have an idea," Temari said smiling. "But it's a lot of work, and it will take some time, do you still think you're up for it?"

Hinata nodded feverishly, she even felt her blood start to move around her body faster and livelier.

"Alright, then let's get started!" Temari replied, helping Hinata out of bed.

The Hokage stared at the two Kunoichis in front of her, and then started to laugh. Hinata, became embarrassed, and started fiddling with her fingers. Temari grabbed Hinata's hands and pulled them apart, before stepping up to the Hokage's desk.

"Hokage-sama, we're completely serious, this is for the good of both our villages," Temari said through gritted teeth.

"Please, Temari-san, I know the benefits of this arrangement, but I doubt Hinata really wants to do this," Tsunade said, looking hard at Hinata, to see if she held any regrets.

Hinata squirmed under her gaze uncomfortably; she instinctively put a finger to her lips and looked at the floor.

"I won't do it unless you allow me and Hinata to have a private talk," Tsunade replied and nodded towards the door.

Temari nodded stiffly and walked out, causing Hinata's eyes to dilate in fear of being abandoned.

"Hinata, do you really want to do this?" Tsunade asked.

Hinata stayed silent for a few minutes as her thoughts tried to organize themselves, why was she here again? Why did she want to do this? These were the questions running through her head, as she tried to stutter out an answer to the Hokage.

_Flashback_

_"Okay Hinata, if you're going to do anything for Naruto, why not make it useful to yourself to?" Temari asked as Hinata prepared to see the Hokage. "I want to take you back to Suna with me, there we can train and you'll become so unimaginably strong that Naruto won't know what to do with himself!"_

_Hinata nodded as she began to pull on her sandals, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth._

_"Yeah! Just think about it! You being able to see my home and me not having to be stuck with Kankurou! It will be so fun!" Temari said ecstatic. "Hinata? Are you sure you're okay with this?" Temari asked, the happiness leaving her voice._

_"H-hai, Temari-chan, I'm g-g-g-going to do t-t-this for m-myself and try to g-get N-n-naruto to n-n-notice m-me," Hinata said smiling at her blonde friend._

_"Are you sure, I mean we can always try something else," Temari said, her back to Hinata._

_"I'm p-p-positive Temari-chan," Hinata said, smiling, and putting her hand on Temari's shoulder._

_"Alright! Then let's go!" Temari cried smiling and dragging Hinata with her to the Hokage office._

_End flashback_

Hinata had become a nervous wreck when they got to the Hokage's office and Temari had done all the talking. Now it was her turn, she swallowed and stepped up to the desk.

"Hinata, are you sure you want to do this? You may regret it," Tsunade said trying to get her to honestly answer.

"I-I-I," Hinata stuttered not able to say anything else.

"Hinata, you won't see this village, your friends and family for two and a half years, are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into to?" Tsunade continued.

"I-I-I-I," Hinata tried again.

'What are you doing Hinata?' she mentally berated herself. 'Temari's not here to help you don't go back on this now! You want to do this and you know it!'

"You may have regrets and I can't promise…" Tsunade started but was cut off by a quite, in yet strong voice.

"Tsunade-sama, I k-k-know I m-may come to regret t-this," Hinata started off firm with her decision. "Demo, I w-w-want to a-at least t-try, not for N-naruto b-but f-for me."

Tsunade looked at her and smiled, her hand found a pen and a scroll, and she began to write.

"Alright Hinata, if you really want it then okay, but you're the one that will have to convince your father, I'll leave the rest up to him." Tsunade said handing her the signed scroll.

"H-hai, arigotou Tsunade-sama!" Hinata said, as she took the scroll and headed out the door.

"So are we set?" Temari asked, following Hinata out of the Hokage tower.

"J-just one more s-stop," Hinata said as they approached the Hyuuga manor.

When Hinata got there she asked if she could have a private audience with her father, she got to his study quickly, while Temari was forced to stay out with Hannabi and Neji who were also curious as to what Hinata was doing.

"Come over here you two," Hannabi whispered, as they snuck to a secret spot.

Hannabi put her ear to the wall and motioned for the other to follow her lead, they all put their ears to the wall and they realized they could hear everything. Meanwhile Hinata had handed Hiashi the scroll and sat back down on her knees, and waited for him to open it and read.

"What is this?" he spat throwing the scroll at the ground.

"I-i-it is a r-r-r-request t-to go t-to Suna t-t-to…" Hinata tried to stutter out.

"I know what it is! I will not have you go to another village and disgrace our family, you are not going and that is final," Hiashi said turning away from her.

"D-d-demo o-o-o-otou-san…" Hinata tried again, but being cut off by her father again.

"If you cannot even speak to me without stuttering then you are even more useless then I thought you were, proving to me even, more that my decision was the right one," Hiashi stated coldly.

Temari was trying to pull away from Neji and Hannabi who had to hold her back from bursting into the room. Neji and Hannabi also felt like yelling at the Hyuuga head, but they had to be sure to exorcise some control for Hinata's sake. Hinata on the other hand was sitting in her father's office and felt a new strange feeling replacing her fear and hopelessness. Without realizing what she was doing she began to speak again.

"Otou-san, I asked your permission to go, not because I needed it, but because I thought you would like it if I did. All my life I have done things for the good of other people and the clan, but now I am going to do something for myself, but I still wish to please you Otou-san, so I will ask you one last time, may I go to Suna, for two and a half years to become a better ninja and hopefully a better daughter." Hinata said, surprising everyone listening to her speak without stuttering.

Hiashi looked at his daughter hard, waiting for her to crack under his gaze and apologize, but she sat there staring at him, waiting for him to speak. A small ghost of a smile flashed across his face, before he became serious once more.

"You have made me proud daughter, and I apologize if you have never known that. I love you and that is why I give you my consent to go to Suna, you should pack now if you are leaving tomorrow morning." Hiashi stated, and was shocked when he felt arms wrap around his waist.

"Arigotou otou-san," Hinata mumbled, squeezing her father one last time then running out of the office to her room.

Temari did a silent victory from where she stood, while the other two Hyuuga's were still. When temari was done, Neji led her to Hinata's room and showed her in, then silently he walked away out to the gardens where Hannabi was sitting, silent and still.

Hinata quickly shoved everything into her backpack while Temari helped a bit. When she had finished she felt like the weight of the world was off her shoulders, and she fell onto her bed, with a contended smile on her face. Temari left soon after and Hinata was left alone the sun setting. At dinner everyone was silent as usual, but it seemed more of an awkward silence then the more comfortable one, Hinata could almost swear that Hannabi and Neji were watching her all through dinner. Finally when she escaped the awkwardness of the dinner table she headed straight to her room.

When she entered she noticed the small stuffed animal almost immediately, it was set down on the windowsill slightly covered by the curtain. She walked over, and kneeling on her bed picked it up and examined it. It was a small delicate bird, kind of like a dove except a misty light blue color, when she looked at its eyes, instead of seeing coal black she saw pearl white. Around its neck hung a collar and in fancy black lettering it said Opal. She wondered who it was from when she remembered the fox that she had gotten Naruto, her heart beat faster as she marveled at the possibility that Naruto got it for her. Again she fell onto her bed, a smile ever present, and with that she fell into a deep sleep.

Neji was watching from the door way when he saw her pick up the bird, she looked at it and her eyes seemed to glow with happiness. He knew who she thought had sent it, and he sighed at being so deceptive; in all reality he had gotten her the bird. Then without her knowing he snuck into her room and placed it on the windowsill, he got it so she would think it was from Naruto, he wanted to give her a good last day in Konoha. Strangely though a part of him wanted her to know it was really from him, but he knew that there would never be anyone else that made his cousin smile like that. So he disappeared from her doorway and went to bed himself.

Naruto woke up the next morning and got dressed; he had a strange feeling that something was going to happen. After his usual breakfast of ramen he headed to the Hokage tower.

"Tsunade oba-chan what mission do I have today?" Naruto asked, excitedly.

"Well, Naruto, I want you to think of this as a long term mission, today you're going to leave with Jiraiya and train," Tsunade said.

"Really!? Are we going to look for Sasuke?" Naruto asked, to excited to stay still.

"Yes Naruto, you will be leaving this afternoon, after we get the clearance making sure Hinata already left." Tsunade said, handing him a scroll.

"Hinata-chan is leaving to!?" Naruto cried.

"Yes Naruto, she also is going on an extended mission to Suna," Tsunade said.

"Is she okay? Are you sure she should be doing this, after all that time in the hospital?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I made sure Hinata was in good condition before I even agreed to this mission," Tsunade said, wondering why Naruto cared so much.

"When is she leaving?" asked Naruto, not knowing why he felt the sudden urge to see her off.

"Well she should be leaving in a little less than a half an hour," Tsunade said, glancing at her clock.

Before she could say anything else Naruto bolted out the door and ran to Yamanaka flower shop.

"Good morning naruto, what brings you into my shop today?" Ino asked from behind the counter.

"Well I was wondering if I could buy a flower," naruto said, already searching for the right one.

"A single flower or a bouquet? Because Sakura would definitely like that bouquet of roses over there," Ino said pointing out said bouquet.

"No no, it's not for Sakura, it's for Hinata-chan," he said, still looking for the right flower.

Ino's eyes widened and a smile spread across her face and was happy for Hinata. She walked out from behind the counter and walked to a small vase containing white lilies.

"Here Naruto," Ino said holding out the flower to him.

"Huh? A white flower? You think I should get her this one?" Naruto asked examining it.

"Yes, they're really rare around here and especially in this weather and I was told I was only supposed to sell them in a big group, but I decided I'd give you a break and just give you one," Ino said, forcing him to take it.

"Really? Thanks Ino-chan!" naruto said, happily. "Now I know Hinata will definitely have a good time in Suna!"

"Yes she will," Ino said, without even realizing Naruto had already left. "WAIT HINATA IS GOING WHERE!?"

Naruto ran around town bumping into random people when he finally ran into Lee and Tenten who were also on their way to the gate.

"Hey, Naruto what are you doing here?" Tenten asked curiously, eyeing the white lily in his hand.

"Yes what are you doing here Naruto?" Lee asked, also curious.

"Well I'm just coming to see Hinata off, that's all," Naruto said, with a big goofy smile.

"Why where is Hinata going?" Lee asked, his happiness faltering slightly.

"Well she's going to Suna for an extended mission," Naruto said, thinking that everyone already knew.

'No wonder Neji sounded so down when he told us to meet him at the gate,' Tenten thought.

Meanwhile, Hinata and Temari were ready to go, Neji, Hannabi and Shikamaru were the only people seeing them off. Hannabi had hugged her sister and tried to seem brave, but she eventually let a few tears slip and bid goodbye to Hinata. Shikamaru said his lazy goodbye to each of the girls and was pretty much done with that. Neji on the other hand didn't want his cousin to go, she had never been out of his reach before and although he used to not act like it he really wanted to protect her from anything. Hinata also didn't want to have to leave Neji there, she seemed like the only person who ever understood him, and she didn't want him to have to suffer silently while she was gone. In a very un-hinata-ish gesture she took the initiative and hugged her cousin. Neji was at a loss for words and pretty uncertain of what to do, his face started to turn a light pink at the gesture, but still awkwardly returned it.

After that Hinata and Temari were ready to head out, the Konoha escorts waiting patiently. With one last wave good bye, they started out the gates just as Naruto, Tenten and Lee appeared. Tenten looked at Naruto, and then the flower, she signaled him to hurry up and he began to run. The gates started to close and naruto knew he wouldn't make it, and then he got a great idea, and summoned one of his faithful toads.

Hinata was walking next to Temari when a small voice caught her attention; she turned around and saw a small toad hopping behind them. She stopped and waited for it to catch up.

"Are you Hyuuga Hinata?" The toad asked.

"H-hai," she said kneeling in front of it.

"Here, this is from my boss, Uzamaki Naruto, he wish's you a safe trip." The toad said, holding out the white lily to her.

Hesitantly she took the flower and examined it, a small blush spreading across her cheeks. She smiled and reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a small bag, inside the bag were freshly baked cookies that her sister had made for her as a good bye gift. Pulling out three she handed them to the toad.

"Here y-you g-g-go," Hinata replied. "O-o-one is f-f-for your m-master and the o-o-o-other t-two are for y-you."

"Wow thanks!" the toad replied, before hoping back toward Konoha.

"Come on Hinata! Let's go!" Temari called.

"C-coming Temari-chan!" Hinata called and ran after her friend.

**A/N: Finally I finished! This chapter took forever, I'm so sorry if you don't like it or it confuses you. If any of that happens I give you all the right to flame me! Alright and if it's not too much trouble my faithful readers and reviewers, one of my friends just posted a story and they're just like me when it comes to losing confidence quickly, I was hoping that some of you would please read his story to and maybe even review, please! It's called Konoha kidnapping. But hey I want my story to get some love to so if you like this chapter or just want to flame me for my stupidity it would mean the world to me. Thanks so much for reading and Gaara's in the next chapter, hurray! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey all, yay finally I get to the chapter with our favorite red head! I really want to get Gaara's personality right. I'll probably fail at that but at least I can try!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 6

A hand ran through unruly red hair, as the new Kazekage sat at his desk and signed even more of the useless paper work that had seemed to absorb his free time. He dropped his pen in frustration as his hand cramped from signing paper after paper for hours at a time. Although he figured this is what he got for letting the paper work pile. He rested his head in his hands trying not to worry about his elder sister who had been in Konoha for what seemed like a very long time. Suddenly the floor shook as loud rap music blasted through the Kazekage tower, making Gaara shake with anger. **(A/N: Sorry, since they have T.V and surveillance cameras I also gave them CD players and rap!)**

He slid out from behind his desk and stalked towards his door, when he wrenched it open he found his maids butlers and assistants running around frantically. Time seemed to freeze as the fuming Kazekage exited his office and started heading toward the source of the obnoxious music. When he stopped he stood in front of the door and tried the knob, when it didn't budge, the loud music and annoyance finally made Gaara livid. Lifting his foot and aiming it carefully he kicked and the door slammed open revealing Kankuro pretending he was rapping with a hairbrush in front of his mirror. Gaara narrowed his eyes and asked why god had cursed him with this thing as his brother while he swiftly walked in and turned off the music completely.

"Hey what was that…hey Gaara!" Kankuro said nervously, tossing the hair brush onto his bed in the corner.

"What have I told you about this shit you call music?" Gaara hissed.

"You don't care if I have it as long as you don't hear it?" Kankuro asked more than stated.

"That's right, now what did you just do?" Gaara asked, grip on the door knob tightening.

"I blasted my music really loud," Kankuro said, almost cowering.

"That's right…" Gaara said still as calm and cold as ever as the glass doorknob shattered underneath his hand.

But before Gaara could kill Kankuro a shinobi appeared behind Gaara, and cleared his throat nervously, half hoping that the demon of the sand didn't hear him.

"What do you want? Can't you see me and my brother are having a private conversation?" Gaara growled, his glare never leaving Kankuro.

"Gomen, K-K-Kazekage-sama," the ninja stuttered, fear increasing. "D-d-demo Temari-sama is coming home and w-will be here in an hour."

Gaara stopped glaring at Kankuro and put his impassive mask back on and turned to the shinobi.

"Kankuro will go and wait at the gates for Temari," Gaara stated.

"Alright, I'll go," Kankuro said, laying on his bed now that his brother wasn't staring at him.

"Now," Gaara said, still his back remained turned to Kankuro.

"Yeah in a few minutes," Kankuro said, yawning.

"Now," Gaara snapped, making Kankuro jump slightly.

"Right, now, I'm on it!" Kankuro replied, and with that he was out the window and running towards the main gate.

"You are dismissed," Gaara said to the other ninja.

"H-hai Kazekage-sama," and without another word the ninja was gone.

Gaara began to walk back to his office, his hand unconsciously going to his nose to rub the area between his eyes. Ever since he became Kazekage his life had been nothing but boring and stressful. All he hoped was that Temari came back with good news; he wasn't up for any surprises today.

Hinata stumbled again as her foot sank into more of the sand, Temari turned just in time to save her face from hitting the scorching ground. She shook her head as Hinata righted herself and insisted one more time that she take the jacket off, Hinata of course politely declined the offer. When Hinata was sure Temari wasn't looking at her anymore she pushed some chakra into her feet and walked on top of the sand, berating herself for not thinking of it earlier. Another hour in the scorching sun and Hinata started to feel really dizzy; she thought she would pass out when Temari finally announced that they were here.

The anbu guards at the gates took in everyone's passport then slowly opened the gates; Hinata took one look and felt like her fear was suffocating her. There were so many different people all with hard disapproving stares, definitely not like Konoha. Unconsciously Hinata reached out and grabbed onto Temari's sleeve. The elder girl looked down at her and smiled reassuringly, when suddenly a loud voice penetrated the silence.

"Hey Temari! I've been waiting for an hour can you hurry up?" someone yelled a few feet away.

Temari rolled her eyes and then turned back to face the person who had shouted, she cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Looks like someone got Gaara pissed," Temari replied, motioning for the group to follow her as they approached a young man that looked about Neji's age.

"Yeah I guess I did," the boy said, he wore purple 'face paint'** (A/N: coughmakeupcough ) **was dressed in a long black suite with a hood that looked like it had kitty ears attached.

Hinata recognized him from the Chunin exams and tried even harder to disappear from his view. Without her noticing she had backed up and tripped over a rock, without Temari to save her this time she landed on the ground with a soft yelp. The boy who was still arguing with Temari stopped immediately and pushed Temari out of the way. He looked down and met Hinata's eyes; he looked at her strangely, before a grin spread over his face.

"So Temari, who's the cutie with you?" the boy asked, almost making Hinata fall over again as she tried to get up gracefully.

"Kankuro, shut up," Temari said turning her head slightly so that she could make sure Hinata was okay. "This is Hinata; she'll be staying with us for a while."

"Ne, Temari? You didn't ask Gaara about this did you?" Kankuro asked.

"Well hahaha no, but I'm sure it will be okay!" Temari said nervously, as Hinata's eyes widened.

"D-d-demo T-temari-chan you d-d-didn't ask!?" Hinata stuttered hysterically.

"Well no, but Hinata it will be fine I promise!" Temari said, forcing a smile.

Without another word Hinata's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted, one of the Konoha anbu catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Right now Kankuro you go and inform Gaara and I'll bring them to an inn," Temari said, trying to usher the anbu away from her brother.

"No way in hell am I telling Gaara you brought home a Konoha ninja, you can do that yourself, I'll take them to an inn," Kankuro said.

Temari sighed and nodded, knowing it was her job and not Kankuro's; with one last nod both siblings were off doing their own jobs.

When Hinata awoke from her little 'nap' she was faced with a blank ceiling. She blinked a few times and experimented with her limbs, and that's when she realized her jacket was off. In a matter of seconds she was sitting up, feeling completely vulnerable.

"Hey there, sleepy head what's going on?" Kankuro said, startling Hinata and making her hide under her blankets. "Hey come on, I'm not going to hurt you." He replied pulling gently on the covers of her bed.

"W-w-where's my j-j-jacket?" Hinata asked, muffled by the blanket.

"Oh that bulky thing? I took it off you so you wouldn't pass out from heat stroke," he said, slightly laughing.

"C-c-can I h-have it b-back please?" Hinata asked, peeking out from underneath the blanket.

"Yeah, but you can't wear it outside in this weather," Kankuro said.

"D-demo," Hinata began.

"No buts you aint wearing that jacket in this weather," Kankuro said, firmly and almost brotherly.

Without another word, Kankuro had pulled Hinata from the bed by her wrist and led her out of the room. She stumbled behind him and before she knew it they were out in the street.

"W-w-where are we g-g-going Kankuro-san?" Hinata asked, her face burning.

"To the Kazekage tower of course! If you're gonna stay here you need to meet Gaara," He replied letting go of her wrist and trusting her to follow him.

Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat, and again she felt as if she was drowning in her fear.

"You okay? You look paler than usual," Kankuro said, feeling slightly guilty for bringing her along only so he could see Gaara's reaction to Temari's news.

"H-hai," Hinata muttered giving herself a small pep talk.

Temari knocked hesitantly on the door of the Kazekage's office, and the shuffling of paperwork immediately stopped.

"Enter," A deep voice replied from the other side of the door.

Temari audibly gulped and slowly opened the door; she was greeted by her brother's fiery red hair leaning over his desk as he signed more and more paperwork.

"Gaara?" Temari asked, never seeing her brother so focused on paperwork before.

The Kazekage's head shot up and he looked at Temari with something like relief in his eyes, before it disappeared again.

"Hello Temari how was your mission?" Gaara asked.

"It was good," Temari said, idly fingering the bottom of her shirt.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at his sister, his sand rattled and in a moment Temari was wrapped in sand.

"Who are you?" Gaara growled.

"I'm Temari now please Gaara let me go!" Temari said struggling slightly.

"Prove it," Gaara said simply.

"You were born on January 19th; your blood type is AB your name means a self-loving carnage," Temari listed. "Now please let me go!"

"That doesn't prove anything," Gaara replied, his intense gaze making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Fine, you used to have a stuffed bear that you carried everywhere, then father threw it in the trash and said that only little children played with toys and that you were weak if you had such affections for an inanimate object." Temari said in one breath, and before she knew it she was on her feet again the sand slithering back into his gourd.

Gaara went back around and sat behind his desk focusing on his paperwork again. Temari gave a relieved sigh, making Gaara shoot her another suspicious look.

"What's bothering you Temari?" Gaara asked, still acting as if he was focused on paperwork.

"Nothing! Why would something be bothering me," Temari said.

"Temari don't lie to me, what is going on?' Gaara asked returning his gaze to Temari.

"Well there's this Konoha ninja, her name is Hinata Hyuuga and I kind of offered for her to stay with us for awhile." Temari said, hoping she hadn't made Gaara lose his temper.

The red headed Kazekage looked at her and blinked a few times, and then he lowered his head and began to sign paperwork again.

"Alright Temari, this Hinata Hyuuga can stay I'll have a room prepared for her," he said continuing to sift through the documents spread across his desk, but Temari remained tense waiting for the next question. "How long will she be staying?"

"Two and a half years?" Temari muttered weakly hoping Gaara hadn't heard her.

But sure enough she was soon met with a sharp glare, and the sound of the pen Gaara was holding snapping in half was the only thing that filled the silence of the office.

**A****/N: Yeah really lame really short chapter, sorry! Gaara was probably OOC and so was Kankuro**** but that's the best I can do for right now! Sorry if you were disappointed and I really wouldn't blame you for flaming me. Although this chapter was craptastic I want to thank everyone that has reviewed so far, and especially thank you Mochi Cream-sama for giving me a title! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, yeah this chapter should be longer then the last one but I can't make any promises. Thanks for all the reviews! I apologize if I update to slow for you guys school will be starting again soon, so I'm trying to get as much of this done as possible!**** Oh and a slight spoiler.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 7**

Temari trembled slightly as she heard his sand fly forward; she closed her eyes hoping that she would go to heaven after this. But when she didn't feel anything she cracked open an eye in time to see wood splinter in front of her face. Both eyes now wide open, she saw as another chair met its end by Gaara's sand.

"Get out," Gaara hissed, shattering the clock on the wall next.

Temari didn't need to be told twice; she high tailed it out of the office but didn't make it two feet before bumping into someone. Eyes narrowed, she focused her glare on Kankuro, who happened to be the one who bumped into her, behind him was the small shaking form of Hinata.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Temari asked urgent to get Hinata as far away as possible for the moment.

"We're going to see Gaara, right Hinata?" Kankuro said, Hinata giving a small nod.

"You don't want to do that right now," Temari said pushing the other two towards the stairs so they could get away.

"Why not?" Kankurou asked, just as they heard another wood item shatter in Gaara's office.

"That's why not!" Temari said as they all raced down the stairs.

When they got outside Hinata fell to her knees panting, while the other two remained standing both were breathing equally hard. Running down 20 flights of stairs and through 4 halls wasn't as easy for the already three dehydrated ninja. Temari checked herself for any injury, then looked over Kankuro and Hinata, she sighed in relief. Hinata shakily stood up and forced a small smile onto her face.

"Gaara's not usually like that… Hinata watch out!" Temari yelled as Gaara's desk came flying out of his window.

Before anyone could move the desk hit where Hinata was standing only a few moments before. Now she was on the hard hot ground with a young girl on top of her.

"Hinata are you okay!?" Temari cried kneeling next to her.

Hinata didn't answer, her eyes blinked a few times as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on. When her vision stopped shaking from the fall, her eyes fell on the girl on top of her, face turning immediately red.

"Are you an idiot!? Why didn't you move!?" the girl yelled as she rolled off of Hinata and onto the ground next to her.

The three older ninjas looked down at the girl; she had brown eyes and short brown hair, quite unremarkable in Suna. But there was something about her that made her stand out against everyone else.

"W-w-who are y-you?" Hinata asked.

"Hey, I don't have to answer your question if you don't answer mine first!" the girl said defensively.

"Oh! G-gomen I g-guess I w-w-was stunned," Hinata said, staring at the ground in shame.

The girl stood and offered Hinata her hand, Hinata took it and was immediately pulled to her feet.

"Matsuri," the girl said shortly and started to walk away.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, before turning just in time to see Hinata disappear into the crowd going after Matsuri.

"Temari, do you think we should go after her?" Kankuro asked.

"What kind of question is that!? Of course we …" Temari started, before being cut off by a loud rough voice.

"Temari, Kankuro, you have to explain to the elders why Gaara just ruined all the furniture," their sensei, Baki replied from the doorway.

"But Baki-sensei!" Kankuro began.

"No buts Kankuro they want to talk to you now," Baki replied, disappearing into the tower.

"Temari," Kankuro said glaring at the door.

"Yes, Kankuro?" Temari asked also glaring at the door.

"I hate you," Kankuro replied as they both walked into the tower.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

Hinata gently pushed through the crowed, having to activate her Byakugan just to keep track of Matsuri, muttering apologies under her breath, and only receiving death glares in return. Finally Matsuri stopped and turned to watch as Hinata barely squeezed through the crowd.

"Why are you following me?" Matsuri asked curiously, moving so they walked side by side.

"A-ano because I-I want t-t-to k-know more a-about y-you," Hinata said, slightly embarrassed.

"Who are you?' Matsuri asked, focusing on her eyes.

"Hyuuga Hinata, from the village hidden in the leaves," Hinata said, noticing the girl's awed expression from glimpsing her eyes.

"Wow! A master of the legendary Byakugan!? And if you're who you say you are then you must be the heiress as well! That's amazing! Almost as amazing as…" Matsuri said, stopping herself and blushing, thinking about this amazing thing.

"H-hai I am t-t-t-the heiress, the w-w-worst one i-in the w-w-w-world," Hinata said bitterly.

"Oh come on I'm sure you're great!" Matsuri comforted.

"N-n-no I'm n-not," Hinata said firmly. "T-t-that's why I'm h-h-here, to train and b-become a b-better ninja."

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

Gaara paced the floor, he had blacked out for a moment and awoke to find his office trashed. He tried to remember exactly what had happened right before he blacked out, and then Temari's words rang through his head. Two and a half years!? What the hell was she thinking when she agreed to that!? The Hokage must be crazy to think that he would accept this without any warning. But then again she did say that she offered, how dare she do such a thing without his permission. He would just have to deal with the Konoha ninja tomorrow; right now he needed to clear his mind. He walked to his window and looked at the horizon, straining his eyes slightly, he saw sand gathering. Knowing what that meant he quickly exited his office to notify the elders.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

Matsuri had showed Hinata around the village, talking to her about the village, sometimes stopping herself and blushing when she was about to mention a certain person. Hinata soon got tired and asked if they could go to an ice cream shop. Matsuri laughed at this, making people stare at them.

"That's a good one Hinata-san!" Matsuri gasped, continuing to laugh.

"M-m-matsuri-san, don't you g-g-guys have i-i-ice cream h-here?" Hinata asked blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Hai, but it's a rare delicacy, so we only have one and it's really expensive," Matsuri said, her laughter ceasing.

"Well w-w-what if it w-was m-my treat?" Hinata asked.

"I can't let you do that! Its way too expensive no matter what you say!" Matsuri said.

"D-d-demo Matsuri-san I-I'm an h-h-h-heiress, I'm s-sure I can b-buy two i-i-ice creams," Hinata said.

"Well if you put it that way sure! I've never had ice cream before I can't wait to try it!" Matsuri said, grabbing Hinata's hand and bringing her to the ice cream shop.

They sat there and licked at their ice cream, silence filled the air and Hinata finally got enough courage to ask Matsuri about something.

"M-m-matsuri-san, y-y-you keep talking a-about Suna and a p-p-person who y-y-you obviously a-a-admire v-very much, who i-i-is it?" Hinata asked.

There was no response, and Hinata misunderstood the silence as anger, she was about to open her mouth and apologize when Matsuri began to speak.

"Have you met the Kazekage yet Hinata?" Matsuri asked her eyes downcast.

"N-no, demo I-I-I remember h-him from a l-l-little w-while back a-at the C-c-chunin exams," Hinata said, remembering the shower of blood she witnessed in the forest of death.

"Well what do you think of him?" Matsuri asked.

"I-I-I think t-that he i-is misunderstood, and a l-l-little scary," Hinata said still thinking about it.

"Damn right he's misunderstood!" Matsuri snapped, making Hinata flinch at hearing such a young girl curse.

"D-demo, that d-d-doesn't g-give him a r-reason t-to kill people," Hinata muttered.

"You don't understand what Gaara-sama has been through! He had to endure much more then you'll probably ever have to, he suffered for so long he has hate in his heart and he despises people. Demo, maybe if he met the right person he could open his heart, maybe even a little," Matsuri finished, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"D-d-does Matsuri-san h-have a crush o-on G-g-gaara-sama?" Hinata asked, giggling slightly.

Matsuri's eyes widened and she began to blush; she kicked the dirt up from the ground now that both had finished their ice cream they began to walk again.

"W-w-well do y-you Matsuri-san?" Hinata asked again, grinning.

"Maybe, a little one," Matsuri replied honestly.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

"Alright everyone into your houses, the Kazekage has alerted us that a sandstorm is quickly approaching," was the message many sand Jounin were shouting in their area of town. Temari and Kankuro had finally been released from the meeting with the elders, when they heard the news.

"HINATA'S STILL OUT THERE!!!" Kankuro and Temari yelled in unison.

"We need help," Temari said. "Should we ask Gaara to help us look for her?"

"You're kidding!? He would kill her on sight, recognizing her as the Konoha ninja who wrecked his peace," Kankuro said.

"We really don't have a choice right now, look!" Temari said pointing outside.

"Alright fine," Kankuro sighed.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

Matsuri heard the familiar cry and immediately grabbed Hinata's hand, pulling her toward the orphanage.

"Matsuri-san w-where are w-we going?" Hinata asked.

"Hurry Hinata! We have to get to the orphanage, don't let go of my hand!" Matsuri cried.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in the market place today and soon Hinata could feel their hands slipping apart. She tried desperately to grab at the hand but soon found that there was nothing there to grab. Soon enough Hinata was lost, people pushing her from all sides, and then the inevitable happened, someone tripped Hinata, and she fell head first onto a rock. She felt her blood start to pool around her head and her vision get hazy, slowly her eyes closed and all went black.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

"So that's why we need you to help us," Temari finished as she stared hopefully at Gaara.

"You are telling me that you let the Hyuuga heiress run freely around Suna, without a body guard, and then when a sandstorm is about to hit, you can't find her?" Gaara asked.

Temari and Kankuro slowly nodded, both looking sheepish and guilty.

"I'll do it, but after that she has to leave tomorrow, no exceptions," Gaara said.

Temari was about to open her mouth to protest, when Kankuro nudged her.

"Alright, no exceptions," Temari said quietly, feeling like she failed Hinata.

"In the mean time you two can clean my office," Gaara replied as he fastened his gourd onto his back and disappeared out his office door.

"Kankuro! Why did you do that? I could have probably convinced him to let her stay for awhile." Temari snapped as she began to sweep the debris.

"Temari this is a life and death situation," Kankuro said stacking books. "Besides he never said we couldn't argue about it later."

Temari grinned evilly, and continued to sweep the office.

**MYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINEMYATTEMPTATALINE**

As soon as Gaara stepped out of the Kazekage tower, he smelled the blood on the wind. It was slightly familiar, but he couldn't place it, knowing that the blood had to be the girls he began to speed through the wind as the storm began to pick up. It wasn't long before he could make out a small huddle in the middle of the road; he approached it cautiously, and gently prodded the figure with his foot. The girl rolled into a ball recoiled more into herself with each prod. He thanked whatever god was looking down on them that the girl was still alive, the death of a Konoha ninja wouldn't be easily explained.

Kneeling beside her, he slowly pried her limbs apart to take a look at her head wound. Blood still flowed out of it, slower than before but still there was blood. His sand stirred anxiously, but he held it back, the next thing he did was examine her face, pale as a sheet and peaceful as a baby, her features were familiar, he paused in his examination, thinking about where he had seen her before. Then it all clicked, the girl who was beaten by her cousin in the chunin exams. He remembered the way she looked at Naruto when he cheered her on, and the way her attacks lacked the will to even harm an opponent. But most of all he remembered how excited he had been when he saw her blood splatter on the ground.

He unwrapped the sash around his waist letting his gourd fall to the ground and wrapped it around the girls head; it would stem the bleeding long enough for him to get her to a hospital. Slowly he shifted her until he could lift her, after he summoned most of his sand and it circled around them in a protective orb structure. The wind raged outside as Gaara tried to get the girl and his gourd back to the Kazekage tower, it took a long time, but eventually he made it. Just before he was about to open the door, the girl shifted slightly. He stared down at her waiting to see her eyes open in fear; instead they slowly opened and examined him for a moment before a small smile spread across her face.

"Arigotou," she said her eyes closing, making Gaara think she didn't recognize him. "Gaara-sama."

Abruptly he stopped walking and looked down at her again, still seeing a contented smile, he felt the overwhelming urge to shake her awake and find out the meaning of this. Why was a weakling like her smiling at him like he was her savior? Sure he saved her from the sandstorm, but that was purely out of duty. This girl confused him and Gaara hated being confused.

Kankuro and Temari finished cleaning Gaara's office and rushed to find their sibling and Hinata. When they saw him he was exiting one of the guest bedrooms, his gourd no longer on his back and his arms crossed.

"Gaara did you find her!?" Temari cried.

"Hai," was Gaara's short answer.

"Was she okay?" Kankuro asked.

"Hai, she had a minor head injury, but other than that she's fine," Gaara stated.

"Well Gaara we wanted to talk to you about…" Temari began but was cut off again by Gaara.

"She can stay," Gaara said.

"Demo! What?" Temari asked forgetting about convincing Gaara in letting Hinata stay.

"I thought you said no exceptions?" Kankuro asked.

"Well, because I am Kazekage it is my ultimate decision," Gaara replied stopping outside his office door. "I have decided that she will stay."

"YES!" Temari cried.

Without another word Gaara left them in the corridor, leaving Kankuro utterly confused and Temari doing her new happy dance.

"What do you think changed his mind?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't know but who cares!? Hinata gets to stay!" Temari replied.

**A/N: Okay second chapter I've done this week and now I'm starting chapter 8. This one is slightly longer then the l****a****st one but I didn'****t want to include that muc****h. Matsuri is not an ****OC ****she is actually from**** Naruto. I know Temari and Kankuro are OOC at the end. I hope you all liked**** it**** and please review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here I am again trying to do as many chapters as I can before school starts so I'll just get to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 8**

Hinata had already spent a week in the Kazekage tower; she had done lots of shopping with Temari and watched Kankuro fix his puppets. She was enjoying herself, but there were two things that really bothered her, one she hadn't started her training which was exactly why she was here. And two she hadn't seen Gaara ever since the day of the sandstorm, Temari had told her about Gaara's outright refusal in letting her stay but then changing his mind after he saved her from the sandstorm.

Secretly she wondered if he was mad at her, she wanted to be friends with Temari and Kankuro, but she also wanted to be friends with him. Maybe Matsuri was right, maybe with a little understanding he could really open up. Plus when she had woken up after the doctor had examined her head she saw his bloody white sash sitting on her night table, she had wanted to return it but never got enough courage to visit him in his office. Today though she vowed would be different, she awoke at the crack of dawn and quickly showered and dressed. As quietly as she could Hinata headed towards the training grounds in the back of the Kazekage tower. Her plan was to train all day or at least until Temari or Kankuro found her.

When she got to the training grounds she froze, and no matter how hard she tried couldn't get herself to move. Sitting on top of one of the training posts was Gaara, eyes closed and muscles relaxed. Hinata thought she might be bothering him so she started to back away, not knowing that there was a Kunai sticking out of the ground, and poor clumsy Hinata tripped over it and landed with a dull thud. Gaara's eyes snapped open and he glared at the girl on the ground, her eyes were tightly closed and she was holding her breath. Slowly Hinata thought it would be okay if she opened her eyes just a little; the first thing she saw was a pale hand in front of her face. She squeaked and crawled away slightly.

"You're really clumsy," Gaara replied in his monotone.

"H-hai," Hinata stuttered, still on the ground.

"Are you going to get up?" Gaara asked.

"H-hai, a-arigotou," Hinata said taking his hand as he pulled her up.

"S-so K-kazekage-sama, w-what are y-you doing h-h-here so e-early?" Hinata asked.

"Meditating," he replied. 'Her stutter is annoying' Shukaku thought and Gaara agreed.

"A-a-ano, m-m-may I t-train here a-a-as w-well?" Hinata asked.

"Hn," was Gaara's reply, as he seated himself in the closest tree.

Hinata took that as a yes; she placed herself in front of a training pole and began to hit it, making small thudding noises. As weeks passed Gaara found the soft thudding of the Hyuuga's palms hitting the wood soothing, and he waited for it every morning. They never spoke to each other, unless it was Hinata saying good morning or good bye, and she would only stay for few hours before going off after Temari or Kankuro, and then she would leave him to his solitude. But one morning things went significantly different, when she came to the training there was no stuttered good morning, Gaara could tell it was her though because of her chakra.

This time when she went to striking the pole it was no longer the soft thuds, it was a sharp and painful sound, unsettling him. He kept his eyes closed and tried to continue meditating, he didn't know how long she had been hitting the pole like that but suddenly his nose caught the familiar smell of blood. Opening one eye, he observed her from the tree, as she continued to hit the pole fiercely while it leaving tiny bloody handprints. The next thing he knew he was holding her wrist and preventing her from hitting the pole again.

"You're hurt," he said, examining the raw skin of her palm.

Hinata's face turned bright red and she refused to look at him, she gently tried to tug away from his grip, but he didn't let her go.

"Why are you hurting yourself?" he asked, although he didn't know much about physical pain, he was sure that you wouldn't inflict pain on yourself without a reason.

"G-g-gaara-sama," Hinata began.

"Stop stuttering it's annoying," Gaara said in his monotone before letting go of her wrist.

"Gaara-sama, what a-are you d-doing?" Hinata asked curiously, when he lifted the other hand and examined it.

"Don't talk unless you can do it without a stutter," Gaara replied calmly about to poke the raw flesh on her palm. "If you do talk with a stutter then I will ignore you."

"G-gaara-sama, p-please don't touch that, it w-will hurt, ah!" Hinata gasped painfully as he poked her palm hard. "Ow Gaara-sama p-p-please don't." Before she could say anything else he had poked her hand again.

"You wish to become stronger," Gaara said, instead of asked.

"Hai," Hinata said slowly, trying not to stutter.

"Then fix your stuttering first, it shows a sign of weakness. If you can learn not to stutter then you are slowly getting stronger." Gaara replied. "Now repeat after me, I will not stutter."

"I-I-I," Hinata began, wondering why he was helping her, and in the process making herself blush.

"Try again," Gaara, said poking her raw flesh again and making her wince.

"I will n-not," Hinata tried again.

"Try again," Gaara replied, poking her hand another time.

"I will not stutter," Hinata said slowly, trying to avoid any more pain.

"Again," he said, releasing her wrist and staring her in the face.

"I will not stutter," she said again.

Temari had awoke this morning planning to train with Hinata and try to make her stronger, when she went to the training grounds she was surprised to see Gaara actually talking to the Hyuuga and Hinata talking back to Gaara without a single stuttered word. She tried not to make a sound as she snuck up, hearing the repeated phrase 'I will not stutter.'

"Temari, you may come out, I was about to leave," Gaara replied, turning to walk away from Hinata.

Temari walked out from behind a wall looking sheepish, as Gaara passed her.

"Arigotou Gaara-sama!" Hinata called after him.

He looked back behind him and cocked an eyebrow, receiving a smile and a blush, not the reaction he was used to. His head ached slightly from all the confusion, and the idea he had paper work to do all afternoon.

As soon as Gaara was gone, Temari approached Hinata with a sly grin on her face.

"So what was that about?" Temari asked.

"N-nothing!" Hinata squeaked turning slightly pink.

"Well the not stuttering didn't last very long," Temari said with a grin.

"Temari-chan, I have to take this in steps. "Demo I can't if you keep e-embarrassing me!" Hinata said, the pink slowly fading.

"Yeah, yeah it's none of my business any way, would you like to spar?" Temari asked changing the topic.

"Hai!" Hinata said, getting into her gentle fist stance.

"Alright begin!" Temari said.

Hinata ran at Temari, who pulled her fan and flourished it, and Hinata went flying backwards and almost crashed into a training post. She sat up and shook her head, ignoring the small cuts and bruises that covered her body and stood. For the next few hours she tried again and again to reach Temari but all attempts failed. By the end of their training session Hinata had more than a few bruises.

"Please, Hinata can we stop for today?" asked Temari desperate, because she didn't want to hurt her anymore.

"Yeah," Hinata said, fighting back tears of disappointment.

"Good, then let's go inside," Temari said, turning and walking away from Hinata.

Before she left Hinata decided she would wrap her raw hands, when reached into her pocket she felt something soft and thick. She knew they weren't bandages, so she pulled it from her pocket. It was Gaara's sash folded, and cleaned, she had for gotten to give it to him this morning, that's when an idea hit her. She stood and ran toward the Kazekage's office.

Gaara looked at the clock, it was around one and he was already done with all his paper work, and now he contemplated on what to do. An idea struck him and he stood up, he quickly wrote a note and put it on his desk. Walking to the window sill he fastened his gourd with a replacement sash and jumped out the window.

Hinata ran out of the Kazekage tower just as Gaara disappeared into the passing crowd. She inhaled deeply and held the sash firmly in her hands, without another thought she began to run through the crowd trying to catch up to Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama…" Hinata's frail voice was barely even heard by her.

She pushed through the crowd and by the time she saw him enter a building she had multiple bruises and small cuts but she proceeded to enter the same building Gaara had. She froze when she entered when she realized what this building was, it was the orphanage. After checking in with the woman at the desk Hinata walked into the back and saw Gaara sitting on one of the little small beds. A small boy ran up to him and held a bear up to the Kazekage, and Hinata unconsciously smiled.

* * *

Ever since Gaara had become Kazekage his sister had forced him to take part in the villager's lives, giving him two choices. Visit the hospital or the orphanage. Gaara's obvious choice was the orphanage; secretly he loved kids, so pure and innocent. He had actually gotten quite found of two of the orphans, one being a young girl named Matsuri. She was determined and held high promise, while the other was a little boy named Akito.

When he arrived he had visited Akito first, Matsuri was out training and he didn't want to disturb her just yet so he decided to play with Akito. Now he was holding the stuffed bear he had given Akito for Christmas last year, while the young boy held a small action figure that looked like a ninja. Gaara gave a quick soft smile before setting the bear down and standing, he patted the boys head and was about to go see Matsuri when he felt a slight tug on the hem of his shirt. He looked back slightly catching the gaze of another one of the younger orphans.

"Yes, what is it?" Gaara asked, his monotone, even in place around the children.

"A p-p-pretty lady a-asked me t-to give t-t-this to y-you Kazekage-sama," the child said holding a white cloth out to him.

Taking it from the boy he examined it closely and realized it was his sash, the one he had let the Hyuuga borrow for her head injury. It must have taken her a while to get all the blood out, Gaara mused to himself as he slipped into his pocket. Deciding that if he was to find out the source of his confusion he would have to spend time with the Hyuuga and also find a way to 'thank her' as Temari would put it.

**A/N: So, so chapter, sorry it took me so long today was my first day of high school and it was horrible! I'm just glad that I have this to help me relax and stuff. I know it's not long but please bear with me! Well review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: YEAH 100 REVIEWS! You guys I almost cried when I found out I had 100 reviews. I'm not even worth 100 reviews! But thanks to you guys I have finally taken the final step in getting a book I wrote published! So in order to celebrate here is a romantic chapter of Gaara and Hinata that I wasn't planning on writing. Thanks for so many review guys!**

**Disclaimer: could you imagine what I would do if I owned Naruto?**

**Chapter nine**

Gaara sat on the roof of the Kazekage tower, waiting for the sun to set, if he was to show her his surprise it had to be the right time. His eyes roamed over the city below him, the pathetic people hurrying home to their families, the young children being led home from a long day of playing outside. The jealousy that overwhelmed him was almost enough to make him scowl, he hadn't had any of that his entire life. A memory surfaced unwillingly, and Gaara was helpless so he watched and waited for the memory to pass.

_Flashback_

_ The short haired girl fell to the ground blood dripping down her chin, as the boy she called brother hit her heart. The whole place was silent; nobody dared to say anything, as the boy launched into another__ long speech about fate. __Personally Gaara didn't care about either participants but the girls blood was getting to him. The smell was like some addictive drug, and he wondered if the boy's blood smelt the same, because of them being kinsman. Part of him urged to just interfere with the fight to see some of the boys beautiful blood fall to the ground,__ and also to spare the girl. For some reason he felt like she might now what he felt, a very small fraction but still. Soon enough the battle was over though and he felt his demon roar with rage, as the girl, was carried off on a stretcher, hearing whispers of murder. He clenched his hands and waited__ he was sure his battle would start soon, and if it didn't then some unfortunate pale eyed ninja was going to meet his end sooner than expected._

_End flashback_

At the time he thought Shukaku yearned for the Hyuuga's blood because it was noble and pure, but what brought up that memory? He shook his head to clear it, if he was to get the timing right he had to stay focused on that, not on some past pointless memory.

_Hinata's POV_

Hinata looked outside her window, dressed in her night clothes but still not asleep, she didn't know why she couldn't fall asleep especially after a day of pointless weapon training, maybe that was what was bothering her.

_Flashback_

_Hinata sat on the ground wrapping her hands once again, tearing up her hands would not make __her stronger and she knew that. Of course as usual Hinata was in denial, she didn't want to believe that the Hyuuga style actually failed, she couldn't. She sighed and stood up, flexing her fingers before getting back into her same fighting stance._

_ "Wait Hinata don't move!" Temari yelled as she ran towards her, a large sack slung over her shoulder._

_ "What is it Temari-chan?" Hinata asked, her hands falling to her sides._

_ "Well you know how the gentle fist won't work on me?"Temari asked, reaching her and dropping the sack on the ground. _

_ "Hai," Hinata whispered, nodding her head for extra reassurance._

_ "Well I thought that maybe you could use a weapon to!" Temari said, smiling and dumping the contents of the bag on the ground. _

_ "Ano, Temari-chan I'm not so sure about this," Hinata said, looking at one of the shuriken that had landed particularly close to her foot._

_ "Come on Hinata-chan, it wouldn't hurt to try," Temari said, tossing her a folded razor blade fan._

_ "A-alright I'll try," Hinata replied__ taking up Temari's fighting stance._

_End flashback_

And poor Hinata had tried, and tried and tried, but nothing worked! She was useless, just like her father said, tears sprang to her eyes, and she ran to her bed. Grabbing onto the small bird she got form Naruto, and holding it tightly while sobbing. **(A/N: Alright, we all know it's from Neji, just in case I confused some people)**

_Gaara's POV_

He watched as the Hyuuga girl sobbed on her bed clutching something that he didn't recognize or care about. Thinking for a moment he recalled how Temari said that woman didn't like it when someone watched them cry, but one look at the moon and Gaara knew it was now or never so he took it upon himself to climb through the girl's window. As soon as he entered he almost became light headed at the unfamiliar smell of this girl, so sweet and foreign. He hated sweet things, or so he had convinced himself. Shaking his head slightly he walked over to the huddled and shaking form of Hinata and shook her, a little rougher then he meant to.

_Normal POV_

Hinata squeaked and fell off of the bed onto the floor, her hands found her head as she muttered under her breath, and although Gaara found it quite amusing he cleared his throat for attention. Another squeak came out of Hinata's mouth as she scrambled to her feet.

"Kazekage-sama! W-what are you doing here!?" Hinata said, in a high pitched very unnatural voice.

"I've come to thank you for earlier," Gaara replied, his face impassive as ever, though inside his heart was praying for acceptance.

"For what?" Hinata asked, confused.

"For giving my sash back," Gaara said, losing hope quickly.

"Oh! You don't need to thank me for that Kazekage-sama," Hinata mumbled quietly, her face beet red.

"Yes, Temari said girls like gifts, I wish to give you a gift," Gaara said.

"Oh well thank you Kazekage-sama," Hinata started still blushing, but also smiling slightly. "But you don't ne…" Hinata began, before being silenced.

"Come," Gaara replied as his sand swirled around him.

"Um uh Kazekage-sama…" Hinata tried again.

"Come," he ordered his voice cool and commanding.

Hinata slowly made her way towards him, and dragging her feet. When she got close enough Gaara decided she was taking too long. In one swift movement he pulled her up against him and the sand closed around them. By this time Hinata's face was burning again her cheek pushed against his chest. Although no two seconds later she was released and she felt the odd sensation of moving while she wasn't moving herself.

The whole trip was taken in silence; Gaara stared in the direction they seemed to be going while Hinata focused on staying up. It seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few moments before they stopped, amazingly Hinata was now exhausted, and it was as if the sound of Gaara's sand rushing around her calmed down her nerves. She saw herself, rather than felt herself fall down on the ground. Her eyes looked briefly over the landscape, before they widened and she took it in thoroughly. Trees, lots and lots of trees surrounded her, something she hadn't seen in months. Gaara held his hand out to the fallen girl, and she took it in awe. As she was hoisted up a new sound filled her ears, and she immediately knew there was a water fall.

"Kazekage-sama, it's beautiful," Hinata said softly, feeling one of the trees.

"Yes, but I must leave now, I will be back to get you shortly, do whatever you wish," Gaara said before disappearing.

Hinata didn't even seem to notice the Kazekage's absence as she walked slowly examining the trees. When she got to the waterfall Hinata didn't even think as she began to walk across the water, not even caring her clothes would get wet. She closed her eyes for a moment, all her worries evaporating, and she smiled, as she began practicing her new water jutsu.

_Gaara's POV_

Gaara sat in a tree that overlooked the waterfall; he had promised Temari he wouldn't leave the Hyuuga, so here he sat. He didn't want to stay; she wouldn't be as happy or as free if she thought someone was watching. She always seemed to tense, Gaara had found this out fairly quickly because he was observing her. It started the day after she had returned his sash, he watched her train and speaks, and he watched her when she thought she was alone. This alone made Gaara realize how different she actually was. So when she started to do her jutsu on the water, he didn't even have a second thought about it, before he had an idea to fix Hinata and her weapon problem.

_Hinata's POV_

When Hinata finished her jutsu she collapsed onto the grass sighing. This was the only time she ever felt she was worth something. Her mind drifted into different memories, ones with her team and Naruto. Staring at the stars a new face made its presence known in her mind. Gaara, she didn't know why but she was so thankful to him for showing this to her. Then she felt lonely, Hinata was no stranger to loneliness but now she longed for the company of someone who barely talked to her. Even though her clothes were stuck to her and the breeze was slightly cold she drifted to sleep, a smile on her face and her lips forming the words 'thank you Gaara-kun.'

_Gaara's POV_

Gaara had sat for over an hour watching the Hyuuga train, becoming more and more convinced that his idea would be perfect. When she fell to the ground he almost went to see if she was alright, but instead stayed sitting on the tree. As her eyes drifted closed, Gaara felt the need to just leave her there in her peace. He sighed knowing he was expected back before dawn, he leapt to Hinata's side and lifted her, she shivered slightly, and then snuggled closer to his body. Gaara realized what was happening and held her away from him slightly as the sand once again wrapped around them. As Hinata wriggled in his grasp he resided in carrying her closer to him so he didn't drop her. This time when she moved closer he found himself not absolutely hating it. Soon they reached the tower and Hinata's room; he gently placed her on the bed, and without another sound Gaara was gone and Hinata was absorbed in her world of dreams.

**A/N: Yay! I think that was pretty good about a chapter that I didn't even want to put here. But anyway thanks for all the reviews people, and review now if you like or have any comments or questions! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wow love you guys! That chapter went over better than expected.**** Okay and about the trees and waterfall, you don't know where they went so it could be in a canyon or it could be in Konoha you just don't know! **** So now all of you will know what Gaara's new plan is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 10**

Hinata awoke the next morning shivering; she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Another shudder coursed through her body, she wrapped her arms around herself, just then noticing that her clothes were slightly wet. Last night's events rushed back to her, making her sigh happily before sneezing. Oh no! She must have caught a cold from sleeping with wet clothes on, she groaned as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and was getting ready to take a nice hot bath and relax when she heard a knock on her door.

"Hinata?" Temari's voice called. "Hinata are you okay? I'm coming in."

Hinata watched as Temari walked into her room, worry overtaking her face as she came face to face with a shivering Hinata.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Temari said approaching slowly. "You were late for training so I came to check on you."

Her hand found Hinata's forehead, her hand immediately fell, and her already worried face got even more worried.

"Hinata, what did you do last night!? You have a fever!" Temari exclaimed.

Hinata recalled the night before and blushed; it was a personal moment that she didn't want Temari to know about. Wait what? Since when did she want to keep things from Temari? 'Alright, then I guess I really am sick' Hinata thought as she walked over to her closet that the Kazekage had so kindly provided for her.

"Nothing, Temari-chan, I'm fine," Hinata said, finally answering.

"Seriously Hinata are you sure you're okay?" Temari asked, not wholly convinced.

"Yes, I'm fine," Hinata said leaning her head out of her closet, a smile on her face.

"Alright then I'll see you down stairs for lunch," Temari said. "Then we can train some more!"

'Since when have I accepted lying!?' Hinata asked herself as she quickly changed into dry, clean clothes. But the one thing she was dreading the most was more weapon training, her arms and legs ached at just the thought. She shook her head and cleared her mind. 'I'm and able bodied Kunoichi! I can do a little weapon training!" she told herself. A moment later she raced down the stairs ready to meet Kankurou and Temari. However when she reached the dining hall she was met with someone unexpected. In their usual places sat Temari and Kankurou, but at the head of the table sat Gaara. After all the time Hinata had spent in Suna, she had never had a meal with Gaara, he was usually in his office or some meeting, but now here he was sitting there , her empty seat right next to him. She swallowed hard and walked as naturally as she could to her seat, and began eating. Although the silence didn't seem uncomfortable, someone broke it.

"Temari what are you going to do after lunch?" Gaara asked.

"Well I was going to take Hinata to the training grounds so we can continue weapon training." Temari said.

"Kankurou, what will you be doing?" Gaara continued, not even staring at them, only concentrating on his food.

"Just walkin' around hangin' out the usual," Kankurou, said, his mouth full of food.

"No, Kankurou you will go and get five gallons of water, and Temari I will train Hyuuga-san," Gaara stated, trying to use his manners.

Kankurou and Temari looked at each other and then at their little brother. Gaara kept eating and Hinata sat there staring at him, with wide eyes.

"Are you sure Gaara?" Temari asked. "I could still train her; I mean I have nothing else to do."

"No, you may watch if you wish, come Hyuuga-san," Gaara said as he stood, Hinata struggling to get up. "Kankurou, I need the water."

The other two siblings looked at each other one last time, and then both stood, Temari following Gaara and Hinata, Kankurou vanishing to go get the water.

* * *

Hinata stood across from Gaara; she tried desperately to tell what he was thinking which was proving impossible as he stood there, his eyes closed and arms crossed. Temari also tried desperately to try and find out what Gaara was thinking. The silence was deafening, Temari stuck a finger in her ear and twirled it around, trying to see if anything was blocking it. Kankurou suddenly appeared with the five gallons of water in a makeshift kind of gourd.

"Here it is Gaara, five gallons of water," Kankurou said, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Good, remove the cork," he ordered, Kankurou did as he was told.

Hinata looked at Temari praying for answers, Temari shook her head, and her eyes suddenly widened, Hinata's head snapped back to the boy before her. She fell to the ground on her side, her hand pressed to her cheek as the sand recoiled back.

"G-gaara! What the hell are you doing!?" Temari cried as she tried to run to Hinata.

A wall of sand separated Temari from Hinata, Kankurou tried to get to Hinata to, but he was also knocked back by sand.

"This is Hyuuga-sans battle, she must realize that not all opponents will wait until she's ready or give a warning. So I won't either." Gaara replied, his sand once again falling to the ground before heading straight for Hinata.

The Hyuuga heiress stumbled while trying to get up, barely avoiding the sand. But Gaara didn't stop yet, another attack was aimed at her and again she barely dodged it. That was until she felt the sand hit her in the back, making her gasp and fall to the ground.

"Get up, Hyuuga-san," Gaara said, before his sand hit her again.

Hinata fell face first onto the ground, she was breathing hard and her eyes were blurry with tears. Another sharp pain shot through her body as Gaara attacked her again.

"What a disappointment," Gaara said, as his sand curled dangerously around Hinata.

"Gaara she's had enough!" Temari cried.

"Gaara, stop! You're gonna kill her!" Kankurou shouted.

Both of his siblings ran at him to stop him from attacking Hinata again, Gaara didn't move but instead his sand flew from Hinata and knocked both of his siblings away from the battle and trapped them.

"If you cannot just watch then I'm afraid I'll have to make sure you don't interfere," Gaara said as he struck Hinata once more, this time causing blood to seep into the back of her shirt, from a large gaping scratch.

Tears leaked out of Hinata's eyes as she tried to get to her feet, only to be knocked down again by another one of Gaara's viscous sand attacks.

'Why am I so weak' Hinata thought, barely rolling out of the way in time as another attack struck the spot where she just was. 'Did I do something wrong!?' she continued to wonder as she stopped rolling after hitting something hard.

She tore her eyes away from Gaara and his approaching sand to look at what she had accidently hit. Her eyes widened and a small smile came to her lips, right before Gaara's sand closed around her and dragged her towards him.

"I guess this is the end for you," Gaara commented.

"No Gaara, please don't!" Temari said, but too late as Hinata's body was crushed.

Temari closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands as she felt drops of warm liquid rain on her skin.

"Well I'll be damned," Kankurou muttered.

**(A/N: I think I'll end it here, naw just kidding! I wouldn't do that to you guys)**

Temari began to shake and peeked through her fingers, only to realize that what she was being drenched with wasn't blood but…water!? She stood and searched frantically for Hinata, but there was no sign of her. Gaara smirked as his sand flew off toward one of the few trees in the training grounds. Hinata leapt out of the tree and landed a few feet away as his sand crushed it to pieces, she panted and blood ran down her back.

"You saw didn't you?' Hinata gasped.

Without a word Gaara shot his sand back at her, she barely was able to deflect it using a shield made of water as she tried to run. His sand wrapped around one of her ankles pulling her down, Hinata focused the water to attack the sand. She did free herself but she wasted so much Chakra she had to turn off her Byakugan. Frantically she crawled away, the water surrounding her like a cocoon. Finally all her chakra depleted, her head fell to the side and she fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

When Gaara's sand had stopped blocking Temari and Kankurou, they both ran to the unconscious Hyuuga. Temari checked her pulse, and smiled relieved that she could recognize the slow steady heart beat of her new friend.

"She will train with me again as soon as she gets better," Gaara stated before disappearing.

Kankurou lifted her and headed toward the hospital Temari close behind.

* * *

When Hinata heard the beeping of a heart monitor, her mind rewound, was all that just a dream? Had she really just spent three months in Suna or was it all a dream. To be honest, she was afraid it was a dream, she was afraid that she had just missed that opportunity. Gathering all her courage she slowly opened her eyes, and was met with the white hospital room, but instead of a shaded room, a wide open window, that showed dessert as far as the eye could see. A relieved smile crossed her face and she fell back onto the bed, only slightly aware of the bandages on her back.

"Hinata you awake?" Temari asked, as she slowly opened the door.

"Hai, Temari," Hinata said, smiling.

"Listen Hinata, I was thinking about it, and I think that you should, maybe go home," Temari said, her eyes downcast.

"Demo, T-temari-chan why?" Hinata asked, eyes widening.

"It's because, I'm afraid," Temari said. "I care about your safety and Gaara seriously hurt you, after you're 'training session' Gaara sat in his office for hours screaming about the pain and the need for your blood."

Temari's head was lowered, and silence filled the room, she wouldn't, couldn't look at Hinata right now.

"No," was the quiet word that filled the room.

"What?" Temari asked, looking up at her friend.

"No," Hinata said, looking at Temari, a tear running down her cheek.

"Hinata-chan, I don't think you understand…" Temari began.

"No Temari-chan you don't understand!" Hinata said angrily, standing.

"Demo…"Temari tried again.

"No! I'm tired of people making my decisions for me! I am capable! Why can't you see that!?" Hinata continued, tears of anger falling down her face as she violently ripped out the I.V needles. "I came here to learn to be stronger, and I will get stronger with or without your help!"

With that she jumped out the window, glad that the hospital let her keep her own clothes, and she continued to run, as far and fast as she could.

* * *

"Oh Hinata," Temari said, sadly, deciding to let her friend leave for awhile to cool off.

She walked out of the hospital room, to sign Hinata's release forms where she met up with Kankurou.

"So what did she say?" he asked, as Temari began the paper work.

"She kind of exploded on me, but I guess that's natural, I'm sure she'll come to her senses quite soon," Temari said.

"Let's hope so," Kankurou said.

* * *

Hinata had continued running until she reached an empty playground, she sat herself down on a swing and let the tears flow freely. Her heart was wrenched in two and she had no idea of what to do. She thought she was gonna die when she was given a light push on the swing. Her hands scrambled for the chains, and her eyes darted to the person who pushed her.

"Hey there stranger," Matsuri said pushing her again.

"Matsuri-chan, what are you doing here," Hinata asked quickly wiping away her tears.

"Well I saw you running; I thought you could use a friend," Matsuri said, sitting on the swing next to Hinata. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Have you ever been forgotten Matsuri-chan?" Hinata asked, drawing shapes in the dirt with her foot.

"Are you kidding," Matsuri said gently. "My parents were killed and none of my relatives even cared enough to take care of me. Why have you?"

"I always have been," Hinata said scornfully. "I never get to chose, because no one thinks about me, or my reaction. Sometimes it's just too much."

"Hey I get what you mean I'm pretty smart for an eleven year old," Matsuri said.

"Yeah I guess you are," Hinata said, smiling.

After staying with Hinata for a little while Matsuri had to leave, making Hinata promise she would go back to the Kazekage tower. But poor Hinata became so captivated with the moon, she didn't realize exactly how late it was.

* * *

Temari paced the hall outside of Hinata's room, worried about her. Yes she did seem angry before but she had expected her home at least at sunset. Kankurou saw his sister pacing, and decided to ask what was up.

"What's wrong Temari?" Kankurou asked.

"Hinata hasn't come back, since the fight and I'm starting to get worried." Temari said, regret lacing her voice.

"Oh no! It's okay Temari, I'm sure she'll be back soon, in the mean time we can't let Gaara find out or he'll have our heads for sure!" Kankurou said gulping.

"Can't let me find out what Kankurou," Gaara asked directly behind him, making the puppeteer jump.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH DON'T HURT ME! TEMARI LOST HINATA!!!!!!!!!!" Kankurou cried hiding behind his elder sister.

"Why you little..." Temari started, turning and smacking Kankurou multiple times.

"Enough," Gaara snapped. "We will all talk about this later."

Without another word Gaara was gone, and Temari and Kankurou were standing in the hall frozen to their spots

* * *

Hinata had finally realized how late it was when a cold wind blew past her. She stood from the swing and began to slowly make her way to the Kazekage tower. The shadows seemed to move as Hinata walked by giving her an eerie feeling of being watched. A crash sounded behind her, making her jump and turn, she backpedaled a few steps, before hitting something hard and falling to the ground.

"Gomen," Hinata said standing and bowing to the big man before her.

"No problem, but a girl as cute as you shouldn't be walking around alone at night," the man replied huskily.

"Well if you'll excuse me I'll be going now," Hinata said, trying to push past him.

But the man wouldn't let her go quite yet. One of his big hands came up and caressed her face, making her shudder.

"Onegai, I must be going," Hinata said trying to escape again.

"I don't think so," the man said leaning close.

Hinata almost gagged as the smell of alcohol filled her nose, the man wrapped an arm around her waist. His other hand moved to the zipper of her jacket. When she felt it unzip, she thrashed wildly, kicking and punching as hard as she could.

"Try to struggle all you want girly, nobodies gonna help you," the man said in her ear as he tried to sneak his hand up her shirt.

Hinata reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a shurikan and tried to cut open the guys arm, finally she was able to push it in hard enough to let her go. She stumbled as she tried to escape, the man called after her as she continued to run. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to continue running, but the man was catching up and fast. Closing her eyes she prayed for a rescuer to come bursting in and save her. She hit something hard and stumbled backwards, her eyes darted upwards and she was met with cool, icy green ones. Falling to her knees in relief she wrapped her arms around one of Gaara's legs as the man who was chasing her slowly came to a halt.

"Kazekage-sama," the man said, trying to keep his voice steady. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to retrieve Hyuuga-san," Gaara said, motioning toward the girl at his feet.

"Oh well I," the man began, beginning to sweat.

"You haven't been trying to do anything to harm Hyuuga-san in any way, have you?" Gaara asked, daring him to lie.

"Oh no of course not never!" The man said quickly.

"Really, so if I asked Hyuuga-san she would say the same thing right?" Gaara hissed.

"Um well Kazekage-sama," the man tried before being cut off by Gaara's angry voice.

"Hyuuga-san, did this man try to cause any bodily harm to you?" Gaara asked.

"H-hai, Gaara-sama," Hinata mumbled into his leg.

"Oh so you have lied to me haven't you?" Gaara said thoughtfully.

"No, please wait Gaara-sama…" the man said, before meeting his end, as Gaara's sand crushed him to oblivion.

Blood rained everywhere causing Hinata to freeze as the man's blood fell onto her face and into her hair. Gaara felt like he was in heaven, as the blood rained down and sustained for a moment. He looked around taking a look around in ecstasy, his eyes at last landing on the Hyuuga.

"Get up," he hissed.

"K-k-kazekage-sama, why d-d-did you k-kill him," Hinata whimpered.

Without a word he yanked her to her feet by her arm, he then pushed her away hard. Hinata stumbled and hit a pole.

"Get up," Gaara snapped as Hinata turned fearfully toward him. "Come."

The young Hyuuga's eyes shone with unshed tears, as she slowly shook her head no.

"You defy me! The demon of the dessert," Gaara, or Shakaku who had possessed the Kazekage's body, howled.

His sand shot out at her and wrapped around her tightly, he brought her close and instead of using his sand he grabbed her around the throat, letting his sand slide back down her body to the ground. He tightened his grip around her neck, and she began to gasp and splutter. Her eyes watered and her mind froze at first, then an idea hit her, she tried to distract him with one hand, smacking him across the face as hard as the position allowed. The other hand found a pressure point on his neck and using the rest of her chakra to knock Gaara unconscious. Thankfully that was enough, Gaara's eyes widened and his hand flew to the back of his neck his knees buckling and his eyes drifting closed.

"Hinata…" he mumbled, before he fell to the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I was going to make you all wait, but I couldn't do that to you so here's the next chapter. Oh and thank you to all of you who made the sound ninja when I asked, they really helped! And I'm starting another story so please tell me if that ones any good! This chapter is slightly gory in this part. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 11**

_Gaara was standing in the middle of the dessert alone, returned to the familiar body from his childhood. But this time the desert was different; the sand was red and burned his skin as the wind kicked it up. He looked around; nothing was insight, until his eyes landed on a cloaked figure. The only thought Gaara had was that he needed to reach that person no matter what. Sprinting as fast as he could across the sand he reached the figure and pulled lightly on their cloak._

"_I'm lost can you help me find my mommy?" Gaara asked, his mind going completely blank, except for the fact that he had to find his mother._

_The cloaked figure turned around and held out their hand, Gaara gladly took it. The two people walked in silence through the dessert and no matter how many times Gaara whimpered as his skin was singed by the flaming dessert sand the stranger never slowed down and continued to lead him. Soon enough Suna was within their eyesight, and the stranger seemed to speed up. _

_As they entered Suna, silence enveloped them, not even the wind blew. Gaara looked around frantically for anyone other then him and the stranger. Letting go of the stranger's hand he looked for his mother._

"_Mommy!" Gaara called. "Momma!? MOMMY!"_

_But no matter how loud he yelled there was no response, he turned to go back and found himself face to face with the stranger._

"_I can't find momma," Gaara whimpered close to tears._

_The stranger did nothing, except point somewhere behind Gaara. He turned around excitedly only to be met with countless mangled human bodies, the over powering smell of blood clouding his senses. Slowly turning his eyes clouded with fear, he saw the stranger holding Hinata with one hand around her throat as she struggled to get free. Without another thought his hand found the other side of her face and snapped her neck. The loud cracking sound echoed in the empty streets. Her eyes became dull and lifeless, and blood poured out of her mouth. Dropping her the stranger dusted off his hands, finally finishing his job. Gaara ran to Hinata's corpse and shook it lightly, then shook her harder; there was nothing, so the child sobbed over her body._

"_Why?" he moaned. "Why did you hurt Hinata-chan?"_

_He looked at the stranger one last time, before deciding to bury her, somewhere close so that he could always see her. As he sat her up the stranger pulled her away from him again, he reached for her helplessly. The stranger didn't even look at Gaara this time he held Hinata overhead and began ripping her limb from limb. Gaara fell to his knees in shock, only being reminded of reality when Hinata's head had landed in his lap. Quickly he scrambled to his feet, trying to get rid of the blood on his clothes. A deep chuckle emitted from the stranger, stopping Gaara. The cloaked figure lifted their bloody hand to their mouth and began to lap it up. In a sudden fit of anger Gaara ran, and began punching the mysterious person with weak inexperienced fists._

"_I hate you," he said. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU!" Gaara screamed._

_With one hand the stranger captured Gaara's wrists and used his other hand to remove the hood. What Gaara saw made him vomit, which caused the figure to laugh, a deep maniacal laugh. The first thing that shocked Gaara the most was how the flaming sand matches his hair perfect. That's right the strange man was none other then older Gaara himself._

"_Oh now don't be a baby," the older one growled, taking another blood coated finger and shoving it into Gaara's mouth, making him gag. "See? Now doesn't she taste as good as I told you?"_

_Smaller Gaara tried desperately to rid himself of the taste of Hinata's blood, one because he didn't want it to be Hinata's blood and the other because it was actually starting to taste good. Older Gaara laughed again, this time making younger Gaara shiver._

"_You may deny me now, but you will soon join me," he hissed, just as a sound like rushing water filled little Gaara's ears. "And if you don't I will slowly drown you in sorrow."_

_Little Gaara could no longer ignore the sound getting louder and louder each second. He turned just in time to see a river of blood flow over him, consuming him. He couldn't breathe and he struggled against the ever-flowing blood. Just as he felt he was about to die something cold was pressed to his neck, he grabbed it on instinct. Realizing nothing was there Gaara finally found out the true nature of the world of red sand._

Gaara's eyes snapped open and immediately searched for the cold object that saved him from his nightmare. Kankurou was the one that held a kunai to his neck, he was slightly panting but his arm stayed, never faltering. Temari stood across the room, fan brandished, and one of her arms slightly bleeding.

"It happened didn't it?" Gaara asked unusually quite.

Kankurou nodded and withdrew his arm as Temari turned her head and refused to look at him. His mind suddenly stopped on the thought of Hinata, and before he knew it he blurted out his question.

"What about Hinata, where is she?" Gaara asked, his monotone returning.

Both Temari and Kankurou's eyes darted over to his left side, he then finally noticed the light pressure and looked. His eyes widened, Hinata lay face down on the bed her hand hanging limply in his own. Without warning he shook her as hard as he could earning a squeak as she fell from her chair by the bed, but unfortunately not letting go of Gaara's hand causing the Kazekage to pitch forward. And although the Kazekage was strong the momentum from the fall almost made him fall off the bed, luckily his sand caught him at the edge.

"Oh g-gomen, Gaara-sama! Gomen!" Hinata cried bowing her head and blushing, not even realizing that she still held his hand.

"Hyuuga-san please release my hand," Gaara said, realizing that the sand was lasing strength.

She turned an even brighter red then before, releasing his hand and burying her burning face in her hands. Temari smirked thinking of another way to tease her friend.

"Yeah Gaara, you should have seen her," Temari began.

"Temari-chan please stop!" Hinata begged jumping to her feet and running to Temari.

"It was really quite sweet," She continued, sparing a brief glance at Hinata.

"Temari-chan please don't say anything!" Hinata pleaded pulling on Temari's arm.

"And even though we told her it was dangerous she still sat there…" the fan mistress continued shaking Hinata off her arm.

"Be quiet!" Hinata cried shoving her hand over Temari's mouth, before quickly withdrawing and wiping it on her pants.

"In yet she sat there for two days holding your hand barely eating and sleeping." Temari said, smirking at her brothers now openly confused face.

Hinata quickly walked away and picked up a bouquet of flowers and a pair of scissors, trying to hide her face behind the exotic colors.

"Hinata-san is this true?" Gaara asked, still as confused as ever.

"Hai Gaara-sama," Hinata mumbled chopping frantically at the stems, and accidentally nicking herself.

She squeaked slightly and dropped both items onto the floor, her finger going to her mouth.

"Oh, Hinata, you should really be more careful," Temari berated picking up the scattered flowers while Kankurou searched for a band-aid.

Without a word Gaara stood and pushed Hinata onto the hospital bed instead and sat in the chair that was once occupied.

"I'm fine, really Gaara-sama," Hinata said without taking her finger from her mouth.

Gaara shook his head as he noticed a thin line of blood running down her arm. He took his index finger and slowly wiped up the trail. Looking around the room he noticed that there was no sink. Everyone knew that the Kazekage was not a big fan of water but this was just ridiculous. Hinata noticed the same problem at the same time, she looked nervously at him. He brought his finger to his mouth slowly, as if waiting for permission. Smiling encouragingly she nodded and he put the finger in his mouth. Shockwaves irrupted in his brain, the only thought that was understandable was the fact that Hinata's blood tasted better then it did in the dream. An irony taste but then something sweet almost like raspberries, a fruit he hadn't had a privilege to try until he went to Konoha.

Before he realized it he was tracing Hinata's visible veins, they tempted him like water tempted a thirsty man. His eyes lingered on her finger in her mouth and he growled quietly.

"Gaara-sama are you okay?" Hinata asked, one of her hands going to his forehead.

'Maybe if I bite that finger I can have more.' A small childlike voice said in his head. 'Do it Gaara do it! Do it Gaara! Do it Do it!

The voice said increasing in force and tone, finally revealing it to be the Shukaku. 'DO IT NOW!' he screamed making Gaara hold his head and pull away from Hinata.

Without a word jumped to his feet and bolted out of the room hands holding his pounding head.

"Gaara-sama!" Hinata cried, wrapping a piece of torn cloth around her finger and following Gaara out the door, almost knocking Kankurou over in the process.

Temari looked confused at the door as Kankurou entered looking equally confused.

"So did I just get this band-aid for nothing?' Kankurou asked.

Temari sighed and rolled her eyes and continued to clean up without a word.

Gaara wondered around, thanking nay god out there that Shukaku finally shut up. He slowly continued walking and decided to go to the front gates of Suna, maybe he could sneak out. He watched incoming traffic, the usual merchants who thought they could make a living in the toughest village around. But then something new caught his eye and Gaara did a double take. A pink haired girl stood in the middle of the street a pack on her back and a searching look on her face. Instead of approaching her Gaara decided just to observe.

Four men came from nowhere and decided to try to have a little fun with her. Again Gaara decided just to watch, unlike Hinata this girl wasn't in his care, and besides she did look like a ninja so let the fools test it at their own risk.

"Pink hair huh," one man, said.

"You sure stick out in a crowd, girly." The other sneered.

"If you'll let me I'll be on my way now," she said a plastic smile on her face.

"I don't think so you're awfully small," another one said.

That was when Gaara finally realized that it was a ninja from Konoha; he realized the dilemma and quickly stepped in.

"May I help you?" Gaara asked, making the four men turn to look at him.

"N-no Kazekage-sama I think we're okay," one said nervously.

"Good, because I expect you all to be courteous to our new allies," Gaara said, motioning to the girl.

"Of course!" One piped in. "Gomen, we'll be going now." And with that the four men disappeared.

"I could have handled that myself Kazekage-sama," the pink haired girl said.

"What's your name?" he said, turning away and ignoring her question.

"Sakura Haruno, I've come to check the medical staff pre agreement," she said matter-of-factly.

"Fine be on your way then," Gaara said, about to disappear again.

"Wait a minute!" Sakura said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

He turned, his unique eyes boring into her normal green ones. Although confusion was written across his face, his gaze stayed as intense as ever, making Sakura's cheeks slowly redden.

"Um never mind," she said, her trailing off.

He nodded, turned and walked away from her holding the place on his arm where she had touched him. She sighed, and then realized that she might be falling for the Kazekage. Sighing again she headed toward the hospital.

Hinata pushed through the many people searching for Gaara, only realizing that she had forgotten to put sun block on that morning. Her cheeks turned red along with her pale arms as she dodged threw the many people.

"Hinata-chan what are you doing?" Matsuri asked.

"I'm trying to find Gaara-sama can you help me?' Hinata pleaded.

"Yeah, of course!" and with that Matsuri was gone.

Hours ticked by and there still was no sign of Gaara anywhere. By now Hinata was thoroughly burned, but didn't care. Her vigilance became a thing of legend that day, it was around 9:00 o' clock at night when she finally found the red head.

"Gaara-sama!" she panted, resting for the first time that day.

He looked up at Hinata and raised a non-existent eyebrow as he saw her on the ground; he approached her and kneeled in front of her. His hand touched her cheek gently, making her turn even redder and wince at the stinging pain.

"Gaara-sama, what are you?" Hinata began before he touched her face with the other hand, and then moved slowly closer.

Her breath began to quicken, his face stopping a few inches away from hers.

"What is this?" he asked curiously as he pulled on Hinata's cheek, making her wince as he fingers pinched the sun burned skin.

"OW! Gaara-sama! That hurts,'" she cried as he pinched her cheek again, but he didn't seem to want to stop, so he kept trying to pull at it. "Please stop!" she said, laughing a little when she moved her face back his hand following close to see if he could pinch her again.

For a few minutes they battled silently, Hinata trying to pull away while Gaara tried to satisfy his curiosity of sunburn and touch. Finally Hinata moved to push him away when she felt something rough under her fingers instead of cloth. She looked up and saw a wall of sand separating them. After she withdrew her hand it slowly fell to the ground to reveal Gaara standing, and holding a hand out to Hinata. Looking at him sadly one last time, she gave him her hand and he helped her up. They walked back in relative silence until Gaara's curiosity grew, so he asked a question.

"What is sunburn, Hinata-san, and what does it feel like?" Gaara asked in a monotone, but his curiosity still showed.

"Well sunburn is when people with sensitive skin stay out in the sun to long without sun block, the sun turns it red and it hurts if you touch it," she said, as they reached the Kazekage tower.

"Well is there anyway to soothe the pain," Gaara asked, knowing that somehow this was his fault, and actually caring.

"Yes, its called aloe, but I'm afraid that I forgot to buy some at the store today," Hinata said, already dreading the long night she would probably spend awake.

Hinata's chest rose and fell as she continued to sleep, lying on wet towels to soothe her inflamed skin. **(A/N: believe it or not I've tried it and it works, if you don't have the aloe stuff.)** Gaara looked at the bottle in his hand, then at the Hyuuga's sensitive pink skin. Was this stuff really supposed to work? Now you may be wondering where Gaara got a bottle of the aloe Vera, well lets just say our handsome young Kazekage has acquired a few fan girls of his own, and they were willing to get him a few things.

He hesitated for a moment before walking into the bathroom and placing the bottle on the counter. When he returned into the bedroom he saw something fall to the floor, kneeling he picked it up and realized it was a small stuffed bird. His fingers ran idly over its eyes, bringing up memories of another stuffed toy he had long ago. Standing he slipped it back into her arms then slipped out the window.

Waking up the next morning Hinata winced as she felt like her skin had shrunk. Slowly and painfully she stood putting the bird down on her bed and walking like a penguin towards the bathroom. She looked at her skin and poked her cheek.

"Ow," she said, before looking on the counter and finding a bottle of aloe Vera.

She looked at it confused, and then remembered what Gaara asked and all the tumblers fell into place. Smiling she opened the bottle and began to slather it on.

Gaara sat in his office signing more and more paperwork, the Haruno girl from the other day was already leaving, not like he cared, he just thought Hinata might have wanted to say hi or something. She had become part of the Sabuku family ever since she had come and he was sure she was probably homesick. He put another piece of paper in a file and continued to sign. Today would be a boring day. A soft knock sounded on his door, he didn't even look up when he told them to enter.

"Gaara-sama?" Hinata's small voice said, making the scratching sound of pen on parchment stop.

"What is it that you need, Hinata-san?" Gaara asked, motioning toward the chair in front of him.

"Well, I wanted to know, willyoutrainme!" Hinata said as fast as she could, after sitting.

"Gomen Hinata-san I can't understand you, I'm afraid you'll have to say it again," Gaara said, now noticing her skin seemed a little less red, all except for her face.

"Will you train me, Gaara-sama," Hinata said, her head bowed.

The Kazekage looked at the paper work on his desk, he gladly accepted the distraction. He quickly cleared off his desk and opened his gourd. Reaching his hand in he grabbed a handful and put it on his desk in front of Hinata.

"I know you can move water, but now you must try moving sand," Gaara explained. "Sand is much harder because of the separate grains and the friction it causes."

Hinata nodded and focused her chakra to her hands and placed them over the sand. In fusing her chakra with the grains was the easiest part. But when she tried to move it nothing happened, she tried again, and still nothing. On and on it went until finally Hinata was panting. She leaned forward to try one last time put Gaara raised his hand as a sign to stop.

"That's enough for today," Gaara said standing and moving the sand back into the gourd.

"Demo, Gaara-sama," Hinata whined.

"No, Hinata-san, you don't have enough chakra to move the sand, another try won't change that fact." He stated before leaving her in the office alone.

Hinata snuck down the halls of the Kazekage tower hoping no one would see her, she finally reached her definition and pushed open Gaara's office door. Flipping on the light switch she looked around the empty office, quite clean compared to Tsunade's. She approached the bookshelf and scanned for a book on increasing your chakra, sure enough she found it, at the top of the 11-foot tall bookshelf. She sighed, why did the office have to be so big.

Gaara sat on his balcony meditating quietly, the night bringing him peace that nothing else could, when he heard a loud crash come from his office. His eyes snapped open and he got to his feet quickly. Without a second thought he went to his office and noticed the light on. He opened the door as if he was about to start a new day, on the floor sat Hinata. She was holding her head and rocking back forth murmuring. All of his books surrounded her and the bookshelf sat on its side a few feet away.

"Hinata-san, are you okay?" Gaara asked, kneeling next to her.

"I don't want to disappoint you…" Hinata began, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"Did you hurt yourself?" he asked.

"I want to train!" she sobbed.

"You want to train? It's two in the morning Hinata-san…" Gaara said.

"Please Gaara-sama, train me, I have to be better! Train me! Teach me things give me more chakra! Help me!" she continued to cry.

Gaara's eyes softened, and he ignored the sobbing girl, he lifted the bookshelf and began to put the books away. Hinata had given up hope and had hid her face in her hands as she continued to cry. Then she felt something hard and a little heavy on her head, she looked up at Gaara and heard a soft thud next to her. She turned and saw one of the many books from the bookshelf next to her. Gaara bent down and picked up the book again, and laid it on her head.

"Gaara-sama, what are you?" Hinata asked.

"Chakra is built with balance, both of the mind and body. If you can keep this book on your head without letting it fall you can strengthen your body, and if you become my assistant you will be able to strengthen your mind." He said.

"Hai, Gaara-sama," Hinata said, with a watery smile.

It was another day in the Kazekage tower, Gaara sat in his office as usual when his door was thrown open. Gaara's newest assistant Alana came in, her hips slightly swaying trying to catch Gaara's attention.

"Gaara-sama?" she said over sweetly.

"Hai, Alana-san?" Gaara asked still signing papers.

"Aw come now Gaara-sama, I told you to call me Alana-chan," she said perching herself at the end of his desk.

If you were to look at Gaara's desk it was pretty bare, paperwork was usually the only thing that was there. But now there was one small picture frame, and Alana noticed. She turned it to face herself and looked at it scowling. It was picture of Gaara, Matsuri, and Hinata. No one had ever hated Hinata in her whole life, except Alana. Jealousy drove her to be cruel to her but she was still nice, making it even worse.

"Do you need, anything Gaara-sama?" She asked.

"No, you may go no Alana," Gaara said.

"All right, Gaara-sama," she said bowing and making sure the picture was face down, before leaving.

Gaara waited until he was sure she was gone before picking the picture up again, he looked at it for a long moment before setting it down again, this time face up and toward him, the memory playing through his head.

_Flashback_

"_Alright smile," Hinata said, as she snapped another picture of Matsuri and Temari._

_Gaara stood and watched as the book on Hinata's head stayed still even while she was taking pictures. Suddenly a white light blinded him, and although he tried to send out his sand but Temari had made him refuse to use his chakra._

"_Gomen Gaara-sama," Hinata said. "I was trying to take a picture of Matsuri, she fell off of the tree and I wanted a picture of her getting back on."_

"_Why?" Gaara asked, confused. "Why are you taking a picture if she didn't do it right?"_

"_Because, it's not her accomplishments that make her who she is, it's how she deals with the whole experience that's important."_

_At the end of the day Matsuri finally was able to make it to the top of the tree. _

"_Hey Hinata, I did it!" she cried._

"_That's fantastic!" Hinata said, jumping up next to Matsuri, leaving her camera on the ground._

_Gaara bent down and picked it up before handing it to Temari and quietly giving her instructions. Hinata hugged Matsuri, then a bright flash shot across their vision._

"_What was that?" Matsuri asked._

"_I want a picture," Gaara said, standing on the same branch as the two girls._

"_Of course Gaara-sama, now say cheese."_

_End flashback_

Once again Gaara's door was opened, but this time in came Hinata and Temari. Both girls were panting but smiling and stopped in front of Gaara.

"So how did Hinata-san do?' Gaara asked.

"She did great! I'm serious, she almost beat me!" Temari exclaimed.

"I didn't do that good!" Hinata said blushing.

"Oh don't be so modest, seriously Gaara, you should really go back to training her," Temari said.

"I don't want to be a burden…" Hinata said.

"Come we will talk about it over dinner." Gaara said standing.

After dinner Hinata stood at her window, in her nightclothes and holding her bird as she stared into the night sky.

"Wow, my life is so great," she said, twirling.

Suddenly a loud bang went off in the distance, Hinata turned back to the window and looked outside, just as another bang went off.

**(A/N: yeah end of this super long chapter, yeah at the sunburn part you probably thought I would have them kiss, but didn't! Oh and by the way, I NEED you guys to do me a huge favor. My friend on here has less self confidence then me, you guys have restored mine so please review his or I might, gulp have to hold my story hostage. He's rockleekicksas, so please, please at least give his and another special friend lovedless231 stories a chance. So please review, and even if you don't read their stories I'll probably update soon anyway, but it would make me go faster if you did!) **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yes newest chapter and this will be posted after the five reviews thing. Okay again I'm so SORRY for doing that to you guys I don't really know what got over me but anyway here's a new chapter. Please forgive me and read, to tell me how you like it or if you hate me. Gomen I beg for forgiveness, and I also ask that because this chapter jumps around a lot so if it confuses you feel free to ask.**

**Disclaimer: nope I don't own**

**Chapter 12**

Gaara was in his office when he first heard the banging, illegal fireworks were his first thought but they increased in volume. Finally he had, had enough and he stormed toward his office door when suddenly it burst open. The poor man that fell to his floor shook violently before finally ceasing movement, Gaara prodded him with his foot and blood gushed from his nose mouth and eyes. Scowling Gaara flipped him over finding a small mark burned into his skin. Leaning closer Gaara could finally make out a small music note. He opened his door again as a loud screeching noise filled the air making Gaara wince and fall to his knees holding his ears.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

"Hey there baby, do your feet hurt, cause you've been running through my mind all day," Kankurou said smoothly…to his mirror.

That's right, the king of puppets stood in front of his full body mirror, admiring his well toned body, and practicing pick up lines on the one thing that couldn't say no. He 'humphed' after hearing the loud bang, someone was having a party without the master of party himself! But when it came closer and made Kankurou's new test design of his face make up go wrong he had, had enough. And even though he wasn't necessarily dressed for the occasion, all he was wearing was his boxers; he shoved his head out the window.

"Hey! Who the heck do you think you are!?" Kankurou shouted.

A large flame engulfed the place Kankurou's head had been a few minutes before. Laying flat on his back, Kankurou was panting but finally serious, the smell of burning hair filling his nose.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Temari sat, gazing in the direction of Konoha from the small coffee shop window, her mind wandering to a cute lazy genius. Her coffee was now cold and even more bitter then before. She longed to see him again, but would never tell her brother that, he would probably kill him. A brilliant idea ran through her head, chunin exams! He was supposed to help with the chunin exams this time around, a private one for Konoha and Suna. A smile spread across her lips, but quickly faded as someone came into view.

They were strange to say the least, total there were three, two boys and a girl. The girl nodded and the other two disappeared. She turned to face the coffee shop window, and looked like she was staring at Temari except for the fact that over her eyes was a headband. Her hair was long and silver while her skin was a raw red color; she finally turned away from Temari, her hair moving with her as she stared off towards the kazekage tower. Temari sensed trouble and stood, which unfortunately for her was a bad mistake, the girls head whipped around again, and this time she lifted her foot and stomped as hard as she could on the ground. Even though Temari felt the tremors she was a little two slow in grabbing her fan as the coffee shops glass and other things imploded.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

"Matsuri-onee-chan," the small boy said, shaking the sleeping brunette. "Onee-chan!"

"Hai, hai what is it Akito-chan?" she murmured in her sleep.

"I have to go potty," he whispered embarrassed as Matsuri stretched.

"Alright lets go," she said, smiling and putting a hand on his head.

The two orphans snuck around the beds as they silently made their way to the bathroom that happened to be outside. Matsuri leaned against the wall beginning to fall asleep, when she heard Akito's frantic voice.

"Matsuri-nee, help!" he cried.

"What is it!? Akito!" Matsuri called, not moving from her spot.

"Help! These people their hurting me!" his voice sounded close to tears.

Matsuri rushed toward the voice only to be caught by two sound ninja, and turned to face the one that had stolen Akito's voice, the young boy was on the ground not moving.

"Well hello there," he said in a robotic like voice. "I knew there was someone there, I just never knew that it was someone with actual chakra."

Matsuri just stared at the boy in front of her, the moon had moved behind a cloud, but she knew this guy had Akito's voice.

"What did you do to Akito!?" Matsuri cried, struggling against the man that held her.

"If I were you I wouldn't be worried about that brat I'd be worried about myself," he said in the same robotic tone. "All of you," he said, making the rest of the sound ninja around look at him. "Orochimaru-sama only wants the Hyuuga, do what you wish to everyone else, the Kazekage's mine."

"Yeah right! No one can defeat Gaara-sama, and he definitely won't let you take Hinata-nee-chan!" Matsuri snapped.

"Ahh perfect, it seems your quite close to the Hyuuga, your voice would be perfect for me," he said, his hands quickly forming seals, and then placing a slightly glowing palm over her voice box.

The wind was taken from her and she tried to gasp for air in yet no sound came. She opened her mouth to try to scream, hoping to warn the other orphans hoping now that her breath had been regained. Finally she realized she no longer had a voice, her mouth flopped like a fishes while she attempted to form words.

"It's useless little one," he said, this time the voice being Matsuri's. "But don't worry, your voice will return if I take another, that is, if you live that long. You are all dismissed!" He said to the surrounding lower level ninja.

"Hai, Kiyoshi-sama!" they all said before disappearing and leaving Matsuri there, on the ground.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Hinata was leaning out the window as she saw someone point to her, and when the faces looked up at her she saw the headbands.

"Oh no!" She said, running to the door of her bedroom.

She pulled the door open as quickly and as hard as possible being slightly thrown back. When she looked up she was met face to face with a sound ninja girl (she could tell by the head band tied to her obi), her skin was pale but creamy. She had long white hair and silver tips tied in a side ponytail. She wore a knee length black pleated skirt with a silver corset top the white obi that held it all together was stained with sand ninja blood and when she saw Hinata she grinned.

"Hello Hyuuga-sama, I'm afraid your stay in Suna will be cut short," she said reaching for her with her bandaged right arm and making a soft tinkling sound.

Backpedaling, Hinata barely moved out of the girls reach before falling to the floor, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Oh my apologies Hyuuga-sama, I forgot about the bells," she said innocently.

Hinata took one look at the girl and glared, forgot!? Fat chance, bells were everywhere, around her neck on her wrists even in her hair. Her eyes fell to the floor as her ears were filled with more bell sounds, Hinata found she couldn't move.

"My bells cause paralysis, then I kill you with my katana, to bad Orochimaru-sama needs you. If he didn't you would have the honor of being killed by me." She said, Hinata only being able to see the girls opened toed boots.

Forcing herself Hinata was finally able to look at the other girls face, caramel brown eyes of the other girl glaring into her white ones even though there was still a smile on her face.

"Let go of Hyuuga-sama!" a sand ninja cried from the doorway.

"Oh, well it looks like you Hyuuga-hime will get to see a show before departure," she said pulling her Katana from the sheath.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Gaara grabbed the first thing that could fit in his ears off his desk to block the screeching noise. That's when he noticed two people enter his office. One was a girl with long black hair and the longest fingernails Gaara had ever seen in his life, her eyes were also the color of onyx and she wore a sadistic grin across her face. The other was a tall boy with short blue hair and piercing brown eyes; he wore a blank expression as they both stared down at the kazekage.

"Awww, look at that Takao-kun! The Kazekage is groveling." The girl said, one of her fingernails moving to her lips.

"I do not think he's groveling Naoko-SAN," the boy Takao said, stressing on the word san.

"Now lighten up Takao-kun! It should be fun getting rid of the kazekage," she said as she lifted her hand into the air.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

The boy who had shot the fire looked at the window as a puppet descended down the side of the tower. Soon enough it touched the ground as another brown haired teen climbed onto the ground next to it in nothing but his boxers.

"You know it's not very polite to be out side in only boxers," the sound ninja said.

"Yeah well it's not very nice to try to blow up someone's face!" Kankurou shouted angrily.

"As you can see you still have your head, now don't you?" he asked calmly.

"Who the hell are you!?" Kankurou shouted.

"That's very rude, you should always give your name before asking someone else's," he scolded.

"What are you, my father! My name is Kankurou Sabuku, and you decided to mess with the wrong person!" Kankurou stated proudly.

"Well my name is Samo Shibire, and I believe it was you who has decided to challenge the wrong person," he said, snapping his fingers as fire sprouted from the ground and engulfed Kankurou.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Kabuto stood atop the Kazekage tower, watching the village of sand burn to the ground. The smile on his face faded as he realized that they still hadn't acquired their target. He had sent out Ginhisakata, a very talented sound ninja, to capture Hinata, but she still wasn't back yet. Unconsciously his hand went to his face as he slid his glasses back up.

"What should we do Yakushi-sama?" another sound ninja said, looking at Kabuto.

"Well, Soku-san, I believe it's time for the victor to get his prize," he said, his eyes darting to the dark haired and dark eyed teen.

"But Yakushi-sama, are you sure, I mean I can do it…" Soku began before being cut off by another sound ninja.

"Let him, I don't wan't to play babysitter with his wife to be," they snapped.

"Haru, that isn't very nice, you shouldn't say stuff like that, especially to him," another ninja said, this time a girl.

"Oh will you shut up, Akako," a boy named Lato said. "Kabuto-sama is in charge of this mission and he will make the decision's."

"Arigotou, Lato-san, Soku-san. You heard them, you better go collect her," Kabuto said, his grin widening.

Deep crimson eyes glared at the rest of the sound ninja around him as he disappeared into Suna.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Gaara writhed on the floor as the piercing noise finally came to an end as her hand fell to her side. His bloodshot eyes glared as he sent sand to attack the two sound ninja, Takao brought two fingers to his lips and blew, creating a huge hurricane like barrier blocking his sand. The girl smiled again, her hand poised in the air.

"Stop," a calm sullen voice said from behind the two others.

"Oh Kisho-kun, you never have any fun!" Naoko said pouting.

"There's nothing I can do about it, the rest of the team has already moved out, we have finally sent the victor for his prize," he continued.

"Finally! But that's a stupid codename! I think it should be codename kidnap the Hyuu…" she began, but Takao quickly placed his hand over her mouth.

"Shut up and lets go!" he said and with that they left Gaara on the floor.

He struggled to his feet, knowing he had to find a way to save Hinata. Just when he was ready to go after her he heard another scream. Forgetting everything else he began to run to the roof. When he got to the top his anger was finally brought to a boil. Matsuri was being held by the neck over the ledge of the roof by a tall boy with spiky purple hair and dark sunglasses. Sand shot out toward the young man wrapping around Matsuri and pulling her towards him. As he caught what he thought was Matsuri, the man went to attack Gaara. The clone left Gaara unprotected as the clone sucked his chakra out.

"I won't let you hurt Gaara-sama!" Matsuri yelled as she ran toward the man and caught him by surprise making him fall off the tower.

The force of the push, unfortunately, sent Matsuri also over the edge. Gaara's eyes widened and he quickly sent out his sand, using the last of his chakra to catch Matsuri. He brought her to the roof and set her sown, he fell to his knees panting and Matsuri ran to him.

"Are you alright, Gaara-sama!?" Matsuri asked close to tears.

The young kazekage nodded and attempted to smile, just before being tackled by Matsuri.

"Arigotou Gaara-sama!" she said hugging him tight.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Kankurou tried again to attack the sound ninja, but every time he moved fire, or at least what burned like fire. Crow swooped down for another attack only to be blown away.

"What the hell is going on!?" Kankurou yelled. "This aint a fair fight.!"

"Come we must go Samo," another sound ninja said.

"Right," he agreed before turning back to Kankurou. "It's been fun Sabuku-san, good bye."

Then without another word the two sound ninja disappeared, leaving a frustrated boxer clad Kankurou.

"Son of a…" he began before falling to the ground…asleep.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Temari tried to block the small girls attack, blood seeping through the cuts from glass in her arms and legs. The girl's attacks were very unique, she manipulated people with sound waves and tried to catch Temari. Finally the onslaught of attacks, she peeked over her fan. The girl nodded and disappeared, Temari slid to the grown leaning against her fan and not being able to move.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Blood splattered against Hinata's horror stricken face as Ginhisakata struck down another innocent sound ninja.

"Well it's time to go now Hyuuga-san," she said sheathing her katana.

Hinata stared at her before finally, concentrating all her chakra to her legs, slowly she stood and began to slowly back away.

"That's not a good idea Hyuuga-san," Ginhisakata said, stepping forward her bells jingling softly.

Even with the Byakugan her vision shook, suddenly the tower echoed with a sort off boom sound sending both Hinata and Ginhisakata flying in different directions. Ginhisakata fell onto another sound ninja. Without a word they both disappeared. Hinata on the other hand flew out of the window and hit the ground running, thanks to her chakra pumped legs.

Jumping onto a roof she continued to run trying to find something, somewhere to hide. Finally her chakra began to run low, but she wouldn't stop running. Suddenly she slid and fell into the damp alley between two houses. Her head smacked against the wall, her eyesight became hazy at the edges and the last thing she saw before meeting the world of darkness was two burning crimson eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey all I know I probably confused you all with my last crappy chapter. So here's another one. Oh and Gaara may be a bit OC. BTW there's one or two cuss words but that's why its rated T.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 13**

Gaara paced his office, the rage practically visible to Matsuri who sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket. She had to admit she was a little afraid of him at the moment, but she would suck it up, he did save her after all.

_Flashback_

_Matsuri ran as fast as her legs could carry her, he only objective to get to the Kazekage tower. The familiar sound of her own voice made her stop, she quickly hid and listened. _

"_What did you do to Matsuri?" an old man snapped._

_Matsuri snuck a peak and immediately recognized him as the man that gave her and Akito free food when they were hungry and the orphanage wouldn't feed them yet._

"_That girl? Well I left her to die," the boy said again in her voice. _

_The man started to chuckle, which soon turned into a deep laugh. The sound ninja became confused and slapped the man as if that would solve everything. _

"_You're a fool," the man spat, blood specking the sound ninja's face. "Do you really think that she would just stay there? She's probably already warned the Kazekage about how you plan to kidnap the Hyuuga girl."_

_The sound ninja finally realized that the man was right, and a sadistic grin spread across his face. _

"_Well then I guess I'll have to catch that little rat now won't I?" and with that the sound ninja plunged his hand through the man and with the other absorbed his voice._

_Matsuri felt a tightening in her throat and she almost gagged, she fell to her knees coughing and spluttering holding her throat._

"_My god what was that?" Matsuri whispered, her hand still clutching her throat. "My voice it's back! I must get to Gaara-sama!" she said quietly to herself._

_She jumped up and began to run, as fast and as far as she could. Stopping for a moment to catch her breath another person walked to her._

"_Matsuri, there you are, come," Gaara said holding his hand out to her._

"_Oh arigotou Gaara-sama, demo Hina…" and with that she fell limply into the clones arms as it transformed into one of the many sound nins._

"_Thanks," the one who had stolen Matsuri's voice said, now with a deeper manlier voice._

"_Humph," and with that the other one vanished._

_When Matsuri had awoken she had been tied up, but she still had a plain view of a boy holding what appeared to be a clone of her over a railing. She was frightened to say the least, but when they tried to attack Gaara all fear disappeared and she quickly found a way to un do the note and then ran to save Gaara. It was to late when she had finally realized that the force of her push would not only knock the sound ninja off the building but it would also send her over the edge. She squeezed her eyes shut, just as she felt something warm and slightly grainy feeling surround her. When she was brought back onto the roof she didn't hesitate and tackled Gaara._

_End flashback_

The door to the office door swung open to reveal three anbu from Konoha standing in the doorway. Gaara stopped and glared at them, he didn't know why but he suddenly felt extremely angry that Hinata was no longer there.

"Kazekage-sama, Tsunade-sama has sent a team of ninja to help track down Hyuuga-sama. We will be heading to the north toward the hidden mist, and you will lead your team past Konoha and onward from there." The anbu with a birds mask said.

"Alright dismissed!" Gaara said irritably.

The anbu nodded in recognition before disappearing and making Gaara pace across the room again. Again the office door opened again and this time it was the head medic ninja.

"Kazekage-sama," the medic ninja said, bowing to him.

"Well, whatever it is it better be damn good." Gaara snapped.

"Hai Kazekage-sama, your siblings are both in intensive care," the doctor said sternly.

"Shit!" Gaara hissed, hands clenching and unclenching in frustration.

"Demo, they should be up and running in a few days if we give them constant care." The doctor continued, beginning to sweat.

"Good see to it then," Gaara said.

"Hai," and with that the other ninja vanished.

After that Gaara began pacing again, only this time it was even more unnerving then before and was making her even more anxious.

"Gaara-sama?" Matsuri asked in a quiet timid voice that didn't sound like her own.

He ignored her and kept pacing, his anxiety coming to a peak.

"Gaara-sama?" Matsuri said a little louder.

"What!" he snapped at her making her shake in fear.

When he saw her quake with fear his eyes softened slightly and he paused in his pacing to sigh, and then he sat in defeat.

"Gomen Matsuri," Gaara said still in his monotone while his body slouched tiredly. "When I became Kazekage I made a vow to protect the village and the people in it, as you can see it hasn't worked as I had planned."

Matsuri smiled from her spot on his couch and leaned forward.

"So Gaara-sama, when will Hinata-nee-chan be back?" Matsuri asked light heartedly.

Gaara's icy gaze focused on her for a moment before he stood and walked to his office door.

"Matsuri it's not that easy," he said, already regaining his regal composure.

"But we will get her back, right?" Matsuri said frowning again and wrapping herself tighter.

"I don't know Matsuri," he said and then he disappeared.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Kabuto was generally a calm person; in fact he had never been angry enough to actually be considered pissed. But this just took the cake! He jumped and landed on another branch almost viciously as the remaining sound ninja's trailed behind him. Sasuke jumped next to him also pretty pissed himself.

'How hard is it to catch one worthless Kunoichi!' Kabuto thought as they continued on.

He glanced over to the brooding Uchiha; he was clenching and glaring into the space in front of him. He of course was taking it harder then anyway, just not for the same reason.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Hinata's eyes opened and she swore she started to taste last night's dinner. The canopy of the forest swirled in her vision due to the nice concussion she had given herself. She rolled over onto her side and tried to assess the situation. Well she sure wasn't in Suna anymore and there was no way any normal ninja got her into Konoha from Suna in one nights trip. She audibly gulped; they had to be pretty strong. What Hinata hadn't realized was that even the small noise of her gulping alerted her returning captors she was finally awake.

"Hey, I think she's awake!" one man said, in his deep voice.

Silence accompanied his accusation; apparently the other wasn't fond of speaking, at least with his partner. Hinata closed her eyes tight and stopped breathing as she felt her self being pushed back on to her back.

"Hey wake up, wake up," the man said, almost asking. "WAKE UP!" he said loudly shaking her so hard she gasped and her eyes snapped open.

Her gaze fell upon what looked like a shark, except clothed and able to speak. His mouth held sharpened white teeth that looked like they could rip her to shreds. Black beady eyes made her pearly ones narrow in fear. She sprang to her feet and tried to back away as fast as she could before running into another figure making her trip and fall. Looking up she was met with a pair of deep crimson eyes. The sight of Itachi Uchiha may have scared her more then the shark man. He bent over and grabbed her by the elbow, he dragged her to her feet and brought her over to the fire that they had seemingly started within a few seconds.

She sat on the log while Itachi let go and gave her a small piece of bread and a soldier pill. Taking both, she looked up at Itachi questioningly.

"Don't worry he didn't poison them," the shark man said sitting across from Hinata.

"Demo," she said quietly.

"I see no point of killing you and I never do anything without a point." He said coldly, making tears spring to her eyes in fear and hurt.

Without another word Itachi left, leaving Hinata alone with shark man (her new name for him). Turning on her Byakugan she examined the food, who was she to trust an s-class criminal anyway?

"Don't worry there's no poison, besides that would defeat the purpose of capturing you at all," the shark man said.

Hinata still didn't say anything; her eyes remained downcast as she slowly brought the piece of bread to her lips.

"Don't let Itachi get you down, he's just a tight ass," the shark man snorted, finally finding out what was bothering her.

She stifled a giggle as she finished the bread, although she didn't agree with cussing, the comment about the Uchiha was to true. The shark man realized he had finally hit a soft spot.

"You're Hinata Hyuuga right?" Shark man asked.

She chose not to speak but slowly nodded her head.

"I'm Hoshigaki Kisame," the shark man said.

"Kisame, stop growing close to the prisoner," Itachi stated. "We should get going the others are gaining."

"Awww come on Itachi, you said we weren't allowed to kill any sand ninja because of leaving traces at least you could let me have a little fun with these guys." Kisame whined, standing nonetheless.

"The Shukaku is present as well as another Hyuuga, we can not let them onto the Akatsuki plans," Itachi said dragging Hinata to her feet once more.

"Alright," Kisame sighed, knowing his decision was final.

Walking over to Hinata he picked her up and held her bridal style, her face turned several shades of red.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Gaara jumped through the trees along with, Hyuuga Neji, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba. He had grown impatient especially with the other Hyuuga nagging at him. So now here he was tracking down Hinata along with 3 Konoha ninja he didn't know, they had forced him to let his siblings rest a little longer so they would catch up soon.

"Are we even going the right way?" Kiba growled earning a satisfied bark from Akamaru, and a nod from Shino.

If you were to say Neji was livid and ready to kill that was an understatement. His mind reeled with insults at Suna and Konoha alike. Oh how he wanted to hit, punch, kick, or harm the Kazekage in anyway he would give his right arm for the privilege. His favorite younger cousin, who he hadn't seen for almost a year, was missing due to the carelessness of the sand village. Basically in short, if looks could kill Neji would be the sole survivor.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

A blonde teenage boy sat at a ramen bar, in the mist village just as another customer came in.

"So, did you hear the news?" the barkeep asked the stranger, who turned out to be an old looking man with a strange headband on.

The stranger took a seat next to the blonde and sighed as he saw the stacked ramen bowls.

"No I didn't hear the news, why is it something important?" the older man asked, eyes looking lazily at the barkeep.

"Well yes, the Hyuuga heiress of Konoha was kidnapped," he said while cleaning a bowel.

The blonde teen began to choke, he grasped at his neck as the half bowel of ramen fell to the floor shattering.

"Son of a!" the old man began to cruse then stopped himself before answering the barkeep and ordering another bowel of ramen. "Here, take it and hurry, we have to move on," the old man said pushing the bowel to the blonde.

"No," the teen said surprising both the barkeep and the old man. "We have to leave for Konoha now."

"Oh come on! I'll teach you a new jutsu," the old man tempted the blonde.

"No now," the blonde said sternly disappearing out of the shop. "Don't worry Hinata-chan I'm on my way." He continued his blue eyes sparkling.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

"Can we stop?" Hinata asked timidly from Kisame's arms.

"No," Itachi's cold voice cut through the air.

"Demo, I really need to stop," she said again.

"What? Do you have to go to the bathroom or something?" Kisame asked.

Hinata turned a deep shade of red and could hardly believe he had guessed right. She nodded hurriedly and Kisame paled slightly.

"Nu uh, Itachi we're stopping. There is no way I'm letting her piss on me." Kisame said stopping immediately putting Hinata on the ground.

"Fine," Itachi said still looking calm but inside was angry.

"Who's gonna watch her?" Kisame asked, turning a lecherous eye to Hinata.

"I will," Itachi, said catching the look before leading Hinata away.

Hinata was let into a grove of trees and she did her business while Itachi stood behind one of the trees, his back facing her. As she pulled her pants up again she decided to run for it and that's exactly what she did. Her attempts were futile; Itachi had caught her in a matter of seconds. Instead she struggled like a madwoman, nearly making Itachi lose his grip.

"Stop," he said coolly.

But Hinata refused to listen and still threw herself around like a doll to free herself. Her chin was caught by Itachi's hand and her eyes snapped open, only to be faced with a burning set of crimson sharringan eyes.

"When I give you an order you will listen," he hissed, as Hinata's world fell black and a blood red moon rose.

**A/N: YAY DONE! So who will win the race, Sasuke Gaara, the blonde boy? Or will the Akatsuki be able to perform there gruesome experiments with the Byakugan. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Yeah the last chapter was weird and I'm sorry if I gave any of you brain damage! I'll try to make this chapter less confusing. Oh and please if you read this chapter, it would be helpful if you review, I mean I personally think I need a lot of constructive criticism.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own**

**Chapter 14**

_The new world Hinata had entered was just like the colorful one except now she was back in the desert. Sand blew about her ankles and that's when she realized something else, her feet were not sinking into the sand. Now she knew something was wrong, she pinched herself and nothing happened, her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip. Even though the sharp taste of iron touched her tongue she still was not free from this world. Sighing in defeat she began to walk and walk and walk until she felt as if she would die from dehydration. Finally she spotted an oasis and she ran to it laughing and jumping. She dove into the water with all her clothes on and not a care in the world._

"_Paradise," she breathed, floating on her back in the oddly dense water, but that didn't matter._

_Her head bumped lightly against something and she stood to see what it was. It was something black and shaped in a nice oval. Grasping it in both hands she picked it up and turned it to face her, only briefly noting that the black stuff was soft. Mouth agape not even a scream came out of her, she was too afraid to even move. In her hands was the dismembered head of her younger sister. Her eyes closed as tears began to stream down her face, her eyes opened slowly, but this time instead of it being her sister's head it was a rock. Hinata put it back in the water and watched as it sank to the bottom._

_Still a bit shaken she dipped her cupped hands into the water and splashed her face a few times. That was when she noticed something in the now thickening and cloudy red water. Two pairs of opal eyes staring up at her and getting closer and closer until Hannabi's head resurfaced. This time her voice cooperated with her and a scream rang out through the imaginary world. She scrambled out of the pool only to realize it was much thicker than before reluctantly she brought a finger to her lips. The familiar metallic taste made her scream again and this time she was able to crawl out of the pool just as she remembered that she had splashed her face with the foul liquid. Clawing at her cheeks she tried to wipe her hands off on her equally soaked clothes. A sharp pain spread through her chest and she looked down to see a long sword sticking out of her, eyes rolling back in her head she caught a glimpse of another pair of Sharringan._

"_Get up weakling." He growled before ripping his sword from her chest. "On your feet now."_

_Her knees knocked together as she attempted to stand and face Sasuke, but she couldn't stand for long. She started to slide back to her knees, right as Sasuke pushed his sword into her once more and stopped her body from falling completely to the ground._

"_I said on your feet," he snapped lifting the Katana slightly, making the wound in her chest longer. _

_Blood fell from her mouth in what seemed like a small waterfall, falling not only onto her over soaked clothes but also onto the sand beneath her feet._

"_Does it hurt Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked her, pulling his sword out and making her fall to her knees shuddering in pain._

_She didn't say anything she was still too busy trying to catch her breath, only to be constantly chocked by her own blood. Sasuke slashed at her arm, cutting right through the nerve, making her cry out. _

"_Answer me!" He shouted, sticking his sword through her once more making her feel pain she had yet to explore. "Does it hurt?"_

"_H-Hai!" She cried as he lifted her to her feet with his sword._

"_Then scream for me," he said, sadistically._

_That was exactly what Hinata did as his Katana sliced up and out her head, in yet her screams never stopped. Soon Sasuke faded from her vision her body fully healed though the pain ever lingering. _

"_Get up," a cold familiar voice hissed._

"_N-ni-san?" Hinata stuttered gasping._

"_Get up main branch trash!" he snapped sending a bone shattering kick to her ribs._

_She gasped as she felt her side cave into the blow and flecks of blood fly from her open mouth, her body now sprawled across the sand and her hand falling into the now warm pool of blood. Shrieking she pulled her hand out of the pool and began to crawl backwards not even caring that sand stuck to her palm. The back of her jacket was tugged upward strangling her slightly, as her cousin pulled her to her feet. His hand came across her cheek hard sending her to the sandy ground once again. _

"_Neji-ni-san w-why?" she asked tears red as blood leaking from her eyes. _

"_I've always hated you," he spat._

"_Demo, why did you?" Hinata began_

"_An act all of it so that when this day would come no one would suspect me," he said before lifting her by her neck. "You were born weak," he said striking her repeatedly with chakra filled palms. "You will always be weak Hinata." He continued striking a fatal point in her chest, reopening painful wounds and memories. "That is because you were born weak," he said pulling a kunai from the pouch attached to his waist. "And that will never change."_

_The slashes he created across her body were possibly even more painful than the Uchiha', not to mention the emotional pain she was going through. Finally when she felt like he had bled her like a slaughterhouse animal he disappeared and she appeared to be healed. In her mind she was already prepared for what this world of torture was ready to dish out, her body and mind both felt numb. Suddenly a huge gust of wind sent her flying into the pool of blood, making her mind and body scream after touching the crimson liquid. _

"_Well if it isn't hopeless Hinata-chan," Temari said from her spot squatting next to her. _

"_Temari-chan?" Hinata gasped definitely not ready for this mental torture and suddenly aware her Byakugan had forced itself to activate._

"_Don't you dare call me by such familiar terms!" she hissed._

'_Temari-chan please…" Hinata said just before Temari shoved her head beneath the surface of the red pool._

_After a few seconds she felt her head resurface and she gasped for breath, and flailed her arms. _

"_Awww poor poor weak Hinata, there's no one to save you now," Temari said in a singsong voice._

"_Demo, I thought we were friends…" Hinata spluttered._

_Temari spat in her face, that she saw even with her eyes closed thanks to the Byakugan. Her hands moved to wipe the saliva that burned like acid away from her eyes._

"_Temari I thought we were friends," Hinata mumbled tears still falling from her eyes._

"_Friends with you!? Don't make me laugh!" She snapped, pushing Hinata's head closer to the rippling surface. "Weaklings like you belong in one place and one place only," Temari said grinning before forcing her beneath the blood. "And that's dead, in the ground."_

_Hinata's eyes closed as she hit the surface of the liquid, her mouth gasping in as much air as it could hold. She struggled as much as she could but soon grew tired and was quickly running short of oxygen. Thick bubbles floated around her clouding her Byakugan. Soon though the bubbles disappeared and that's when she saw the floating corpses. One of Naruto's, one of Gaara's one of her sister, and so many more that she couldn't even recognize. She opened her mouth to scream and realized to late where she was. Unfamiliar blood filled her mouth and lungs, the coppery taste making her want to heave. Again she struggled to surface but her head remained beneath the blood. Her salty tears mixed with the blood around her as she continued to cry, her vision becoming hazy._

_Slowly her eyes began to close as her body grew heavy and the last of her air dissipating. Her eyes saw that the blood red moon hanging in the pitch-black sky was finally full, and then she was met with black. _

Her wide white eyes rolled back in her head as she fell into the outstretched arms of Itachi Uchiha. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder and resumed walking. Kisame soon followed behind them, staring intently at the quivering Kunoichi.

"Hey Itachi, wasn't that a little harsh?" Kisame asked, as they stopped to switch jobs.

The only reply Kisame got was a sharp glare and he was silenced. Itachi soon disappeared to make sure that the pursuers would never even gain an inch as Kisame continued on his path to his meeting place. And although he tried he couldn't help feeling sorry for the gentle girl in his arms.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Everyone slowed as Akamaru began sniffing around a specific area in a small clearing before turning and sniffing in another direction.

"What is it boy?" Kiba said joining his dog on the ground.

A loud buzzing noise filled the clearing as a swarm of Kekai bugs flew toward their master. Shino held a finger out to the leader then commencing to talk with it. Neji searched the forest for his younger cousin and still he found nothing, not even a single trace of her or a struggle.

"My Kekai say they can no longer trace her," Shino said as his bug flew away.

"Yeah and Akamaru can't find a strong enough scent to trace," Kiba said, patting his dog on the head.

"I can't see her, I couldn't even see her two hours ago," Neji said bitterly.

Gaara stood there on the tree branch contemplating what to do next. They had left almost right after the pursuers and Neji had claimed he saw them the first hour they had began their journey. That's when Gaara, finally realized exactly what had happened.

"Genjutsu," he cursed.

"What did you say?" Kiba called from the ground.

"We're stuck in a Genjutsu," Gaara repeated only a little louder.

"I noticed that to," Shino said, looking toward the Kazekage.

"Well why the hell didn't you say anything!?" Kiba yelled from the base of the tree.

"By the time I realized we were in a Genjutsu it was to late to reverse," Shino said matter of factly.

"How long have you known we were in a Genjutsu?' Neji asked, also quite bitter.

"About two hours," Shino said. "Right after you lost sight of them, or it could have been before that."

"Damn it!" Kiba growled and punched the tree.

"When will the Genjutsu ware off?" Neji asked, controlling his anger.

"About two more hours maybe a little longer or a little sooner," Shino stated. "Give or take a few hours."

"What are we supposed to do until then?" Kiba asked.

"Wait," Shino said before leaping into another tree.

Gaara didn't like the sound of that at all.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Sasuke pushed ahead of everyone else, his rage burning more so then anyone else's. He didn't even want to go on this stupid mission; he didn't even know the Hyuuga girl, why would he want to marry her? But now a whole different aspect fueled his determination. The Akatsuki had taken her, that much was clear, and his brother was in Akatsuki. Really he could care less about the Hyuuga girl. Thanks to Orochimaru's insisting he marry a Hyuuga now he knew exactly where Akatsuki was.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Naruto and Jiraya finally made it to Suna after traveling all night and all morning. The sand village stood in a total disrepair compared to what it used to look like. They both entered the village and were surrounded by sand and Konoha ninja alike.

"Stand down," one Konoha anbu insisted. "Master Jiraya must go see Tsunade-sama."

"What about this intruder sir?" a sand anbu asked referring to Naruto.

"He must also go see Tsunade-sama," another anbu commented.

"We shall escort you to the tower," one said, the other next to him nodding.

Naruto and Jiraya were led through the remains of the city to the tower and were soon led to the Kazekage's office. Jiraya knocked on the door, a few seconds later a small girl with black eyes and brown hair opened the door. Her smiling hopeful face turned into one of utter disappointment and anger.

"What do you want?" the girl snapped.

"Hey you little brat!" Naruto cried, about to smack her head. "Show some respect!"

"Pfft, you don't deserve respect," she muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Naruto yelled.

"Why are you even here? We're having an important meeting!" the girl cried.

"I've come to speak to oba-chan about Hinata-chan," Naruto said.

The little girl looked surprised at first before her eyes narrowed and she glared at Naruto.

"What do you know about nee-chan?" the small girl asked.

"Hinata-chan is one of my friends and I'm here to save her and take her back to leaf." Naruto stated proudly, just as the door slammed in his face.

"Matsuri, who was that?" Temari asked, sitting fully healed on Gaara's couch.

"No body important," Matsuri said nonchalantly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO BODY IMPORTANT!!?" Naruto cried, making the tower practically shake.

"Matsuri," Tsunade said, glaring at the young girl. "Shizune let him in."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Shizune said standing and walking to the door.

"Well hello Naruto, I'm guessing you're here because of the news about Hinata," Tsunade said.

"Heck yeah I am!" Naruto cried. "When do I leave?"

"Well Kankurou, Temari," Tsunade said grinning. "Looks like we got a three man squad."

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Hinata followed in a daze behind Kisame who was leading them through the forest. She hadn't said anything in days and she was still silent. Kisame was worried and tried to get her to talk every now and then.

"Almost there!" Kisame said excitedly, turning to look at the blank Hyuuga heiress.

Suddenly they stopped, making Hinata bump into Kisame's back. Her white eyes drifted up to meet Kisame's.

"Guess what, Hyuuga-chan?" Kisame said leaning down to her eye level. "You have two new people who are going to bring you to Akatsuki, okay?"

"Kisame, I think we can take it from here un," a buoyant voice said from behind the giant shark man.

Kisame narrowed in annoyance and pushed Hinata in front of him to face two new Akatsuki members. One was a tall silent red head with dark colored eyes the other was a grinning longhaired blonde with one visible blue. Hinata stood her mouth a gape before leaping onto the blonde, startling all four Akatsuki.

"I missed you so much!" the Hyuuga sobbed onto Deidara's shoulder.

"Do you know this girl, Deidara?" Sasori asked.

"No, un. Never seen her in my life," Deidara said, wrapping his arms around Hinata to support her weight.

"I love you so much Naruto-kun…" she mumbled just loud enough for the explosives expert to hear.

"So Deidara how does she know you?" Itachi asked.

A grin spread across the blondes face as he shifted her a little and began to walk away, but not before calling back.

"Just call me Naruto-kun, un!"

**A/N: I know it took centuries! GOMEN!! Anyway I thank you all for reading my craptastic story thus far, and have only one request. My friend is writing one of those fics where you ask the Naruto characters the questions and she answers them. Well can you please review her with questions or if you want review me for this chapter and include one or two questions if you can! I love you all thanks for reading and I beg of you to review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello, all I have to say before this chapter begins is, if you don't think Deidara looks like Naruto, I do. Oh and for all you wondering why she didn't recognize Sasori as Gaara. She will soon. Oh and sorry for any spoilers and if you haven't read the last chapter this really won't make sense!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter 15**

Hinata walked behind Deidara her fingers pushing together nervously. In her mind it was still Naruto. His hand swung at his side inviting her to grasp his fingers. Swallowing her pride and shame she slowly reached her hand to touch his, but as soon as her fingers grazed his, he would jerk his hand backwards and laugh awkwardly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she tripped over a root and began to fall. Her eyes snapped open when she felt something wet move across her wrists. Deidara released her after making sure she was stable.

"Lets keep moving un," Deidara said and began walking again.

Hinata's face was bright red, her embarrassment nearly making her cry. Naruto wasn't like she had remembered. He was no longer as giddy and, he barely seemed to remember her at all and it was starting to hurt. She knew it wasn't always like this; there was a time not to long ago when she had been happy and now she was desperate to find that happy place. Finally after racking her brain for a few minutes, some memories came back to her. Her and Neji going to the convenient store and her picking up the stuffed fox named Ramen. Hinata smiled slightly at the memory, it was as if she was in a fairytale that day, but another memory surfaced that turned her happy ending into a nightmare. Naruto and Sakura, together, kissing. Tears sprang to her eyes and she stared horrified at 'Naruto's' back.

'He knows,' she thought frantically. 'He knows I saw him and Sakura kiss and he knows how much I like him. He doesn't want me to feel bad so he is unknowingly treating me as if I'm a stranger he just met.'

Her feet and emotions led her astray from the path they were following and the blonde didn't seem to notice. But a quiet redhead that stood not to far behind did and followed her into the denser trees.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREE**

Shino led the way, the others following obediently, all of their thoughts not on the current place or time.

'I remember when I first met Hinata; she had caught Akamaru who ran to her for no reason. As soon as I saw her I recognized her as a member of that snobby Byakugan clan, I was about to give her a piece of my mind to when she ran up to me to return Akamaru with a soft smile and a soft goodbye.' Kiba recalled his eyes drifting towards his white dog.

'I have always been considered a freak; having bugs live inside you isn't very natural for most ninja's. But two days after we became teammates one of my Kekai bugs crawled through a hole in my face and she was looking at me and talking. When she saw the bug I was waiting for the scream, instead I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and she was holding the Kekai on her finger, asking me about it's unique abilities.' Shino thought to himself as a butterfly drifted lazily over a flower.

'We were so young when we first met I was four and she had barely reached the age of three. When I met her I thought she was adorable, I wanted to play with her like she was my own personal toy. Even though she was trained to recognize the cursed seal as a sign of her superiority she never once treated me different. The day after I got the seal it was itching and I couldn't quite reach the right spot; the frustration drove me to tears as I scratched meaninglessly at my forehead. Hinata had just brushed her teeth and when she rushed over to me the smell of mint slowed my tears. She had asked me if it hurt, I nodded and she stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed my forehead. The mint extract from the toothpaste soothing the itching and burning area.' Neji's mind replayed as a bird flew across his enhanced vision.

'It was _different_ when she came. Not in a bad way but good way.' Gaara's thoughts began to align. 'She never once treated me with fear because of Shukaku but fear because of who she is. Her personality is contagious even I sometimes find myself acting more kind then necessary. Staying with her has never been a burden and she never bores me. Her dream to get stronger has gone from a dream to reality. Whoever wanted her to change was insane, Hinata is almost perfect. The kindness and gentleness she has reminds me of a mother and her children, but she also a strong enough force to be reckoned with, Besides Temari has never been so happy and neither have I.'

"Hello gentleman," a rich voice said from behind them.

They all stopped and turned to see a sound ninja standing there in a ready position. His hands straying close to his weapon's belt.

"You know you should pay more attention to these things," a girl sound ninja replied.

"What do you propose we do now?" Kiba asked the group as they backed up to form a tight circle as to avoid being attacked from behind.

"I don't know, Neji-san?" Shino asked

"Nothing," Neji said, hands sliding into the Hyuuga fighting style. "Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara stayed silent as his eyes grew blood shot, his sand swirling dangerously around them.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

The sound ninja fell to her knees as Itachi grasped her wrist.

"It was futile from the beginning and you knew that, so why?' Itachi asked monotonously.

"You have what Orochimaru-sama wants, and Sasuke-kun wants you dead, I won't let him down so easily." The girl replied.

Naruto, Temari, and Kankurou stayed hidden in the trees, praying that Itachi was to distracted to notice. All of them were itching to interrogate the Akatsuki member especially Naruto. In fact he would have jumped down if Temari hadn't threatened to castrate him if they survived. Temari felt her blood pressure rise, if Hinata wasn't with the sound ninja that meant she was with the Akatsuki, which was bad.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the mention of his younger brothers name and released the sound ninja. The girl sprang to her feet ready to run when she felt something grasp her ankles.

"I never said I would let you go," Itachi continued his cloak shifting slightly.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he saw the sound ninja fall to the ground shaking. The girl looked at her arms and she smacked at it, she did it again but she soon did it again and over and over until she started screaming. Her frustration was obvious and finally she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled out a kunai from her pouch and brought it to her arm. Itachi turned and walked away just as the girl began to skin her self-alive.

Temari closed her eyes tight as the girls piercing shrieks tormented her mind. When the screaming died down all three of the ninja approached the bloodied remains of the sound ninja.

"Wow, what a bad way to go," Kankurou said tapping what appeared to be a part of her leg.

The lump twitched slightly making all three ninjas jump back in alarm.

"S-s-s-she's alive!?" Naruto cried.

"Oh my god!" Temari said, letting a few tears escape.

"That's beyond disturbing man, way beyond disturbing!" Kankurou mumbled.

Temari knelt beside the girl and picked through some of the bloody mess, her humane side out weighing her fear and disgust. The girls bloodied face stared up at Temari her sadistic grin never faltering.

"I'm so sorry…" Temari whispered.

"Why?" the ninja asked her smile growing wider. "I finally got the bugs off."

Horrible maniacal laughter escaped the girl's mouth but died as quick as it came, blood coming to the surface instead. Temari stood and wiped her hands on her clothes over and over the laughter of the dead making her sick.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Hinata's heart was beating erratically as she continued to stumble through the forest as the tears spilled down her cheeks. Naruto didn't love her, nobody loved her, why was she even here. Her sandal slid into a puddle and she shrieked, she shook her leg viciously but the mud stayed. She sniffled and continue to run but tripped on a log dislocating her ankle and making her fall on her face. And for a moment she thought of not getting up, and she would have stayed there if only it hadn't started to rain. She got on her knees and tried to stand but her ankle throbbed and she resided to crawling. Finally she pulled herself into a hole in a tree and sat there crying.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE **

"We're almost there un," Deidara said turning back to look at their Hyuuga captive.

There was nothing there and Deidara felt slight panic, and he called for Sasori this time.

"Sasori-danna? Do you have the Hyuuga girl un?" Deidara asked.

Again there was no answer and Deidara sighed in exasperation, and began to retrace his steps.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHERE**

Sasori followed the Hyuuga at a safe distance watching her visible mood swings. He grimaced when he saw her slide into what was supposed to be a puddle of mud. And he winced when she sprained her ankle. Curiously he stood by and watched as she finally stopped trying to run and dragged herself to a hole in the tree and continued to cry. Being careful he slid from his hiding space and walked over to the hole.

Shifting his cloak slightly he kneeled in front of the sobbing girl and slowly touched her hand making her withdraw and gape at the bored looking red head. Memories ran through Hinata's head of another unnamed red head and Hinata couldn't help but feel slightly reassured.

"Are you okay?" Sasori asked with a monotone.

Hinata only nodded, still trying to put the pieces together, but also feeling relieved that someone had understood.

"I can carry you if you'd like" he continued his hand stroking her ankle and making her flinch.

More tears spilled from her eyes and she hid her face once again. The slight rustle of Hinata shifting drew the puppets interest. He watched as she sobbed harder and harder with each passing second.

"Are you still upset about Deid…uh I mean Naruto?" Sasori asked trying to discover the problem.

Opal eyes stared at him through pale fingers as she timidly nodded her head making Sasori smile slightly at her shyness.

"Don't mind him he's a baka," Sasori said grasping her hand.

That's when it all came back to her, a red head with aqua marine eyes.

"Arigotou, Gaara-sama," Hinata whispered, letting one last tear escape.

Sasori was taken slightly aback but adapted quickly and nodded. He then signaled her to come follow him.

"I don't think I can," Hinata said embarrassed. "I kind of sprained my ankle."

"Well get on my back then Hinata-san," Sasori replied turning his back to her.

"I couldn't possibly…" Hinata said nervously before she felt him grab her legs.

"There is no time, Hinata-san we are already behind schedule," Sasori said jumping off into the trees.

They finally saw Deidara and they slowly came to a stop, the blonde stood in front of them an eyebrow raised. Sasori shook his head as if to say he would explain later and they continued to walk in a comfortable silence. When night began to fall they stopped in a clearing to set up camp. Sasori placed Hinata next to the fire while him and Deidara looked for water.

"What's that about un?' Deidara asked as they walked through the forest.

"What?" Sasori asked, stopping to snap a branch of a tree.

"You and the Hyuuga getting all comfortable un," Deidara tried to ask as inconspicuously as possible.

"Why do you care?" Sasori asked, sensing the blondes true intention.

"No reason, just wondering un," Deidara said, silently fuming that his trick didn't work.

"Really, because from my perspective you're jealous," Sasori said grinning.

"Jealous! Jealous of what un!" Deidara said defensively.

"Oh just that she came running to me after you rejected her," Sasori said, finally stopping at a river.

"Number one un I didn't reject her, two un you can have her," Deidara said bitterly examining the mouths in his palms.

"Well thank you, I mean a cute under aged girl all alone with two criminals, that situation is just to good not to take advantage of, besides I don't think you even have the charm to do it," Sasori said turning to his partner and smiling.

"Is that a challenge danna, un?" Deidara asked, finally understanding the game that Sasori wanted to play.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Sasori asked innocently.

"I think we have a deal un," Deidara smirked.

**SOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWHEREELSESOMEWEHRE**

Hinata was getting nervous, the shadows played tricks on her and memories of the horrible experience with Itachi Uchiha hadn't helped her fear of the dark. She shut her eyes and tried to go to sleep but every time she closed her eyes memories of the horror of Tsukiyomi came back to her. A rustle alerted her and she grabbed a kunai although she knew it wouldn't help.

"Hinata-chan we have dinner un!" Deidara cried as he burst into the clearing almost giving the poor girl a heart attack.

"O-oh Naruto-kun I thought you were the enemy," Hinata said smiling weakly.

"Hinata-san grab on," Sasori said suddenly kneeling in front of her.

"Ano Gaara-sama I…" Hinata began her face turning slightly scarlet.

"If you don't want him to do it I'll do it un!" Deidara said happily, not waiting for her reply and instead picking her up bridal style.

Deidara used all his will power to keep his tongues from licking the bright red girl as he put her near the new fire that held the now cooking food. Sasori glared at Deidara but sat down next Hinata anyway. Deidara also plopped down next to Hinata and engaged her in a very animated conversation about something pointless Sasori didn't doubt. He glanced over the food and knew it was done but got an idea, which might win him points. Carefully he picked up the food staying as far from the fire as possible and held it to the now stunned girls lips.

"Try some, and tell me if it's done Hinata-san," Sasori said.

Hinata began to open her mouth face getting redder as his hand approached. 'What a dirty trick danna' Deidara thought before also coming up with an idea. Just as she was about to put the food in her mouth Deidara snatched the food and devoured it, regretting it as soon as he was done because the food was still hot. His eyes began to tear but swallowed with a grin.

"It's done un!" he said.

"Oh Naruto-kun that was hot!" Hinata chastised as Sasori glowered at Deidara.

After a silent diner where Deidara won most of the attention grabbing battles Hinata yawned like a baby and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sleepy I think I'll go to bed now," Hinata mumbled.

"Okay night Hinata-chan!" Deidara cried, while Sasori just nodded as the girl limped over to a spot.

An hour had passed and still Hinata hadn't fallen asleep and both Akatsuki knew it. But it was driving poor Deidara insane. Every few seconds he would glance over at the Hyuuga girl with his only visible eye, in turn making Sasori annoyed.

"Is there something bothering you?" Sasori asked loudly making Deidara jump.

"Well un, Hinata-chan isn't asleep yet and it's worrying me," Deidara said sheepishly.

Sasori glanced back to where the Hyuuga girl was supposed to be sleeping, only to see her frail body shaking as she sobbed in silence.

"Hinata-san we know you are awake, you can come back over to us if you would like," Sasori said patting the space next to him.

Hinata stood and hobbled over to the two older ninja, her eyes watched the flames as they all sat in silence. Eventually Hinata's head fell to the side and she was consumed by sleep.

"Thank God un, I thought she'd never go to sleep," Deidara said stretching out.

"Well Itachi did do a job on her, its only understandable," Sasori replied poking the fire.

They heard a sob from the girl in between them and both Akatsuki members glanced behind them only to find her sobbing in her sleep.

"Poor kid un," Deidara said.

Without a word Sasori shook Hinata awake gently. Her opal eyes snapped open and her hands flew to her face to hide in shame.

"You were having a nightmare," Sasori said.

Hinata once again bowed her head in shame; she couldn't bear to look at the man she thought was Gaara.

"Ne, don't worry Hinata-chan un," Deidara said sliding over to her. "You can lay on me and maybe you might not have such terrible dreams."

Hinata turned bright red and shook her head viciously; the thought of sleeping on Naruto was simply well unthinkable!

"You think I have cooties or something un? That hurts a lot Hinata-chan," Deidara said sadly.

"No that's not it," Hinata mumbled.

"Then what's the problem un?" Deidara asked.

"I just…," Hinata began, before her head was pulled onto Deidara's chest and held there.

"Just calm down un and got to sleep," Deidara said smirking at Sasori from over Hinata's head.

But Hinata pulled away her face even redder then before and more tears streamed down her face.

"Please don't," She whispered.

"Why not un?" Deidara asked, quiet shocked from the sudden outburst.

"It will only hurt that much more when you go back to Sakura," Hinata cried.

"I don't know what you mean un," Deidara said thoroughly confused.

"I saw you kissing Sakura, I was hiding in the bushes I came to tell you that I loved you and I saw it," Hinata continued, as she got to her feet and was about to run away.

Sasori's quick reflexes didn't fail him and he grabbed her wrist.

"He's a baka ignore him," Sasori said.

"Demo," Hinata sniffed.

"No buts," Sasori said pulling Hinata back down onto his lap.

Her face turned bright red, as a baffled Deidara stared at the two. Sasori shrugged off his cloak and wrapped it around the still shaking Hyuuga.

"Now be quiet and go to sleep." Sasori said.

Hinata slowly nodded and fell asleep, making the blonde gape and then glare at the red head. After about fifteen minutes Sasori looked up and smiled.

"Alright where's my money?" he said.

Deidara grudgingly reached into the unknown crevices of his cloak and pulled out a small bag of money and chucked the bag at his superior's head.

"That was my food money for a week danna," Deidara whined.

"Well you shouldn't have bet it then," Sasori said, shifting Hinata slightly.

The rest of the night was filled with quiet conversations and as soon as the sun began to rise Hinata was shaken awake and they were on there way again. The trees became denser and Hinata realized they were walking near a mountain. Her eyes drank in the grey stone, when she suddenly noticed that Deidara stopped.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"We are being followed un," Deidara announced. "Should I go danna?"

"Yes, make sure they don't get any closer," Sasori said grabbing Hinata's wrist and picking up the speed.

The trees flew by now and Hinata almost vomited at the flashing blurs of color. The sudden stop made her lurch forward and crash into Sasori's back.

"Damn you Deidara you can never get all of them can you," Sasori mumbled as he made sure to catch all of his enemies.

"What's going on Gaara-sama?" Hinata asked.

Without a word Sasori grabbed her and held her against his chest protectively making her blush. Suddenly she felt her hair being yanked back hard, and pain shooting through her face. Blood dripped from her chin, and her eyes focused on the gleaming Katana stuck through Sasori.

**A/N: I know I know not updated as fast as I said I would but I'm a freshman with evil teachers! But still gomen! If this chapter confused you let me know if you didn't like it let me know. Please maybe some criticism okay? Oh and maybe a little help. If you haven't noticed this is the eve of my very first big battle and I need some advice on it! Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Yeah so here's another chapter. Sorry for the long wait but now I'm on break so I vow to put up two chapters. This chapter should be rated around M because Hidan is in here and we all know what his mouth is like! Please bare with me people when it comes to the battle part. I don't think that I'm very good at it so I'm open for constructive criticism on anything. Oh and I was thinking about ending this soon, what do you all think? Oh and warning slight spoiler.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own**

**Chapter 16: **

Instinct more then anything forced Hinata to move away from Sasori who glared down at the Katana. Her brain began to run at a thousand miles a minute as she tried to remember what she was doing here and who the red head in front of her was. Then it finally came back, the Genjutsu and being kidnapped. Her eyes fell on the young man in front of her once again and he grabbed the Katana with his bare hand and slid it out not a single drop of blood coming from his wound. And again her eyes were drawn to the red clouds on his black cloak. The full force of the situation hit her like a speeding train. This man, a man she had given her life to, was an Akatsuki member, which explained why he wasn't bleeding.

"Come here, Hinata-san," Sasori said, calmly disregarding the katana.

"No," Hinata said meekly, slightly curious about how he knew her name and if she told him how much more he knew.

"Demo, I need to protect you Hinata-san," he beckoned her in his most alluring voice.

Hinata actually had to fight her body for control and was able to back up a step. Sasori looked like he had almost pouted at her retreating gesture.

"Fine, I was going to let you do this your way but I guess now it's time to do it the easier way," he said flicking his wrist briefly.

That was all it took and Hinata found that she couldn't move. She struggled at the invisible bounds around her.

"Onegai, save your strength you'll need it to survive long enough," Sasori said bored.

The tears stung her eyes as she defied his will and still struggled. She had the vague feeling of being a puppet and her master being the red head. Hinata's eyes slid shut briefly, but that was all it took for her resolve to surface and when her eyes opened they shone with defiance. Her right hand was slightly moveable so she reached slowly and inconspicuously toward her kunai pouch. Sasori noticed this almost immediately and tightened the chakra strings around her making her gasp in pain. Luckily for her she didn't need the kunai as the clearing shook with the force of a distant explosion, making Sasori fall a little off balance and freeing Hinata from the chakra strings.

After composing herself Hinata ran at Sasori filling her hands with chakra and aiming at where his liver would be. But as her hand collided with the Akatsuki's body a low thunk rang through her ears. Hinata mentally yelled at herself he had to have armor underneath. She jumped back and activated her Byakugan; her voice caught as she realized this man wasn't wearing armor but was a simple hollow shell. Her Byakugan scanned up and down looking for his one weak point, and that's when her eyes rested on a single beating organ left, the heart.

Forcing a dangerous amount of chakra into her hand, that would be lethal to a ninja her age and even a little older, and charged. Sasori watched amused, just as her hand was about to hit its mark Sasori grabbed her arm and pulled her near before dodging a sound ninja that had thrown himself at him.

"Well it's nice to finally meet you Sasuke-san," Sasori said looking down at the dark haired teen.

Hinata wiggled slightly so she could catch a glimpse of the boy. Dark obsidian eyes flicked over to her momentarily before going back to glaring at the Akatsuki member. But even in those brief seconds Hinata could tell that it was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"Just let the Hyuuga go and tell me where Itachi is!" Sasuke hissed.

"Gomen I can't do either." Sasori said holding Hinata tighter as if to prove his point.

"Then I will have to make you," Sasuke said charging the puppet Akatsuki.

Sasori stood still, confident that Sasuke wouldn't dare to try and hurt Hinata. But as the young Uchiha got closer he made it evident that he would strike Hinata down to if that meant he would get what he wanted. At the last second Sasori threw Hinata away from him and disappeared into a puff of smoke. Sasuke cursed under his breath and sheathed his katana before glaring at Hinata.

"Get over here Hyuuga," Sasuke spat, pointing at the spot next to him.

Hinata shook her head and retreated a step. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair before turning to her once more with a softer expression.

"I can't have you getting hurt, come here, please?" Sasuke said, almost making Hinata smile.

Sasuke smirked as she began to walk to him but it soon turned into a scowl as a familiar blonde appeared between them.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" Deidara cried then turned to face the Uchiha. "Well look! If it isn't the little Itachi clone himself un!"

Unfortunately Deidara was unaware of the lethal mistake he just made. Painfully slow Sasuke drew his katana once again and his lips turned in a sadistic smile.

"I would say that you will live to regret those words but you're going to die right here right now. Hyuuga if you wish to live I suggest you leave," Sasuke said, his eyes never leaving Deidara.

Hinata nodded and turned to run away, but didn't miss Deidara as he shouted after her.

"Watch out for Hidan un, he can be a real bastard!"

Her heart pounded as she attempted to migrate through the woods on her own. The trees passed by in a blur and it made Hinata want to puke. Her insides burned and she felt like she was going to die if she didn't stop soon. Finally she found a clearing and sat behind a tree so she would be out of sight. She activated her Byakugan and watched. A sound ninja appeared in the clearing and looked around worriedly.

"I'm guessing that fucker Orochimaru sent you," a deep voice growled.

Both Hinata and the sound ninja searched for the source of the voice. Her white eyes finally locked onto a man dressed in the customary Akatsuki cloak standing on a tree limb across from Hinata. He looked like an ordinary man except for his pale lavender hair and the huge scythe attached to his back. The sound ninja backed up slightly before scowling at him.

"Orochimaru-sama sent us to capture the Hyuuga, it has nothing to do with you!" the sound ninja cried, but there knees shook as their eyes lingered on the mans scythe.

"Oh so he's after that bitch to huh?" he said lazily before grinning down at the sound ninja. "You're a worthless piece of shit compared to me and I really should find the Hyuuga, but I think I'll have some fun first!"

With that the man jumped from the tree and landed in front of the sound ninja. With one move the man unlatched his scythe and swung at the sound ninja. At first it looked as if the ninja had successfully dodged it, but then, without a single drop of blood the ninja's head fell of its shoulders and onto the ground. The Hyuuga deactivated her Byakugan and closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt something bump lightly against her hand she looked down and saw the sound ninja's head.

She jumped to her feet and clasped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. Backing up she failed to notice the root of the tree sticking up and tripped over it ungraciously. Her eyes immediately snapped up and landed on the smirking face of the Akatsuki member.

"Well hello there," he said. "My name is Hidan and I'm assuming you're that fucking Hyuuga right?"

Hinata flinched at his mouth; she had been taught that people who said such things were unworthy of being in the presence of a Hyuuga. She was suddenly aware of a large hand coming toward her. She quickly rolled away her Byakugan activating itself in the process. Primal instinct took over, this man was a predator and her the prey. But this prey wasn't going down without a fight.

Hidan was somewhat impressed as the Hyuuga scrambled to her feet. There were so many that would cower at his feet, in yet such a small frail girl defied him.

"Stop being difficult you little bitch, just come with me," Hidan said.

Hinata shook her head no and ran at him, her palms glowing with blue chakra. To her surprise the man didn't even try to dodge it and took the blow she had aimed at his lungs. The teen was too shocked to do anything as she felt a big rough calloused hand close around her own small one.

"Hate to break it to you," Hidan said, his smile growing wider. "I'm immortal."

His grip on her hand tightened and he spun her around so that her back was facing him. A small twist of her wrist and pain shot through her arm. She bit her lip to keep from screaming.

"Unfortunately for you, I was only told to bring you back alive."

Hinata kicked Hidan as hard as she could in the stomach and propelled herself forward and out of his grip. She hit the ground running and only stopped when she was sure she was a safe distance away from the sadist. Her Byakugan eyes locked onto Hidan as he simply stood in the spot he was in before. Her eyes flickered to her wrist as she gave it an experimental twist and she almost smiled when she realized he hadn't broken it.

Against Hidan her gentle fist would be almost completely useless. She could still see his chakra system and it would be easy enough to attack. An idea struck her almost instantly, she turned tail and ran. She heard a scoff and then realized that he was following her, something that wouldn't help her at all. As quickly as she could she began the hand signs for a clone jutsu. Hidan noticed that the girls chakra flared, meaning that a jutsu would soon be preformed. He caught up to her with ease and lifted her off the ground and slammed her against a tree holding her by her neck.

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and Hidan turned a little surprised she finished the jutsu before he caught up to her. He saw a glint of metal and instinctively lifted his hand to cover his face. Hinata's kunai sliced through his skin and almost cut his hand clean off. As soon as the kunai passed almost half way through his wrist Hinata gasped and quickly pulled the kunai out.

"You little bitch! I was using that!" Hidan snarled as he took his other hand and ripped the dangling one off.

Hinata swallowed the vomit that had welled in her throat as the discarded hand lay on the ground. When Hidan took a step she was brought back to reality.

"Since you cut off my hand it's my turn," he said smiling, as he gripped his scythe.

Hinata barely moved in time as the scythe came awfully close to her hand. She now stumbled through the dense trees, Hidan close behind her. He swung heavily at her and she ducked just in time as it lodged itself in the tree in front of her. Ducking under his arm she stood behind him contemplating what to do next. Suddenly a large object flew into her range of vision. Without thinking about it was Hinata dropped to the ground and rolled away from Hidan.

Almost silently Hidan's head fell from his shoulders and onto Hinata's lap. She shrieked and leapt to her feet and ran as fast and as far as she could. Soon enough she had to stop to take a breather. Arms then wrapped around her waist and startled the Hyuuga.

"Please don't fight me Hyuuga-sama," the sound ninja whispered. "I'm here to protect you."

Luckily the Hyuuga heiress didn't believe this for one second and immediately cut off the circulation to the sound ninja's hands. He released her and experimented with his hands.

"Awesome jutsu un!" Deidara said as he walked toward them.

The sound ninja leapt at her again and this time Hinata closed the rest of the chakra holes in his arms. Again the ninja was taken aback and shook his arms as if it would help. Deidara chuckled as he approached; reaching into his cloak he pulled out a small white glob. Making a quick hand sign it grew larger and revealed itself to be a spider. Finally he reached Hinata who was too confused to do anything, and stood behind her wrapping his free arm around her neck.

"I'm afraid this is the end for you," his smiled widened as he threw the spider at the panic stricken sound ninja. "Katsu!" he said, before quickly disappearing with Hinata in his arms.

In a large explosion the sound ninja was killed, the only thing left his scorched head banned. Although they were moving increasingly faster Hinata still felt the heat of the massive fireball. After what felt like forever Deidara stopped and placed her on the ground. Catching him off Guard she attacked his chakra system.

"Eight trigrams! Sixty-four palms!" Hinata said softly just as Deidara turned.

He hit the ground hard and laid still, Hinata finally began to run on her own, quite aware that the Akatsuki had already began to repair himself. She stopped abruptly, shaking her head she tried to move once more but still she did not budge.

Her white eyes glared at her legs only then noticing to vines wrapped tightly around her ankles. She fought against them in vain and looked up as a huge man appeared in the clearing.

"It seems that we finally caught the Hyuuga," the man said.

He had a mask like Kakashi, and his eyes were hidden from her view, however the strangest thing was that instead of having one heart he had seven.

"Should I take her to the lair?" a new voice asked from behind her.

She turned her head just enough to see another Akatsuki. Her eyes widened and she almost wet herself. This man was absolutely huge! And that wasn't even the scariest part, there was a huge Venus flytrap attached to his head. With one movement of the masked man the world went black.

**A/N: This really sucks! I'm so sorry! Again please be nice! NO FLAMES! But constructive criticism is gladly expected! Again I'm sorry and please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hi guys, if you were wondering what was going on with Gaara and everyone else here is the chapter where you find out! So sit back and I hope and pray it doesn't make you want to gouge your eyes out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Chapter 17**

Blood rained from the sky as the final sound ninja was crushed in a flurry of sand. Gaara stood there his stance victorious his face impassive. Shino and Kiba stood off to the side, already knowing what the red head was capable of and although a bit shaken determined not to show it. Neji on the other hand stood there a little shocked and almost completely unaware of the blood from a sound ninja on his face. With the slight movement of his hand the sand gathered once more and slid into his gourd.

"I think we should get going," Kiba suggested, as he comforted Akamaru who remained hidden.

"I agree," Shino said.

Gaara looked to Neji, him being the only one not to answer other than himself. Neji noticed Gaara's skeptical look and nodded. The four once again headed off again in what Akamaru confirmed was the right direction. Neji used his Byakugan and scanned the area noticing three other ninja's not too far behind.

"Wait," he said so quiet he could have rivaled Hinata.

Gaara was the only one to hear, accustomed to Hinata's small voice and glared at the other two until they stopped.

"What is it Neji-san?" Shino asked respectively.

"Three ninja's coming at us from behind," Neji said, trying to see any distinguishing features.

"Do you know who it is?" Gaara asked.

"No," Neji said, just as Akamaru whined.

"Impossible," Kiba muttered, as he patted his white dog. "It couldn't possibly be HIM."

"What did Akamaru say Kiba?" Shino asked.

"Akamaru says its Naruto," Kiba began. "But it can't be because he…."

Neji hushed him and searched for the familiar chakra signature of the Kitzune. Little did the Hyuuga genius know but Gaara was doing the same and he found it a lot sooner. Shukaku roared in rage as he felt the nine tailed fox approaching making Gaara's head ache.

**(A/N: Italics means Gaara is talking and or yelling in his head!)**

'_How dare he!_' Shukaku grumbled. '_This is my vessel and my responsibility_.'

'_Why do you care so much about Hinata?_' Gaara asked his demon curios.

'_**I**__ am not worried about this worthless girl_,' Shukaku chuckled at the mere suggestion that he was. '_**You**__ on the other hand do, and I want to relish in the fact that you will have to use __**my power**__ to save your beloved._'

'_She is not my beloved'_ Gaara snapped.

'_Do you care for her young one?_' Shukaku asked.

Gaara stayed silent. He had no idea how to answer such a simple question. Hinata was a girl, he had met many girls in yet none of them were like Hinata. In a way he supposed she was important to him but in another sense he thought he would be able to live and maybe be happy without her. Little did he know Shukaku was getting angrier and angrier as the seconds ticked by. What was wrong with the boy? He should have already answered such a foolish question in yet here he stood pondering about it. That was when the fact that maybe he did care for the Hyuuga sunk in.

'_You are foolish boy_' Shukaku said, catching Gaara's attention again. '_I will make sure that the girl dies, not in the hands of her captors but in mine. Let the blood of the one you care for most slip in between your fingers, splatter your face._'

Gaara winced at this, imagining his sand killing Hinata and the way her blood would feel on his hands. A loud thump made both Gaara and his demon search the vicinity for anything dangerous.

"Naruto, you could have been more careful!" Temari snapped.

Naruto grinned from his spot on the ground sheepishly. Kankurou rolled his eyes before the settled on Gaara.

"Hey bro," he said with a nervous smile.

Temari looked up from Naruto before her eyes landed on Gaara.

"Gaara, so how's your search going?" Temari asked kindly.

Gaara was about to regard them both coldly when he heard a small growl. He looked around the area for a moment and saw and sensed nothing. He looked back at his siblings before he was distracted by a loud roar. His eyes watered from the volume as it echoed in his head. He glanced around once more and found Naruto was clenching his fists and grinding his teeth in pain as the roar echoed.

'_So we meet_' Shukaku said to the unknown intruder.

'_Shukaku you rat!_' the voice roared almost making Gaara topple to the ground.

Naruto shot Gaara a fearful look and that was when Gaara realized what was happening. The Kyuubi and the Shukaku were interacting with each other.

'_And what do I owe this great pleasure to?_' Shukaku asked mockingly.

'_Don't play dumb_' the Kyuubi rumbled. '_I will not let you touch the girl_.'

Temari was worried. Naruto and Gaara weren't responding to their calls. They just kept looking at each other, cringing or glaring every once in a while but other than that neither boy moved.

'_That girl is important to my kit and if you touch her you will die_' Kyuubi continued.

'_And why would I listen to you?_' Shukaku challenged.

'_I know your plan to kill her_' Kyuubi stated.

Shukaku was silenced and Gaara glanced at Naruto who looked back at him enraged. Before Gaara could do anything Naruto tackled him to the ground.

* * *

Hinata's eyes opened only to be blinded by a bright light hanging above her. She didn't know where she was and couldn't really remember anything. Her limbs felt heavy and her body wouldn't move no matter how hard she tried. The situation seemed to get worse and worse by the second as Hinata tried to come up with a plan of what to do next.

"I see you're finally awake," a feminine voice rang in her ears.

Suddenly the blinding light was deterred as a shadow in the shape of a woman stood over her. Hinata opened her mouth but nothing came out. Was this woman friend or foe? Where was she and why couldn't she move?

"Tobi, come in here," the voice said brusquely.

"Hai Konan-sama!" an obedient yet deep male voice said, as Hinata was abandoned and left to stare at the glaring light above her.

"Watch her while I get Leader-sama and Uchiha-san," the woman said, the sound of a door closing being the only thing to follow.

For a few minutes all was silent, and then she heard the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor. When the dragging stopped, she heard a tsk and the light was moved so she no longer was staring at it head on, instead her eyes landed on a person with black choppy hair and an orange mask with swirls and a single eyehole. She had the strange feeling of being appraised, like a piece of meat and would have moved if she could. Her cheeks flushed slightly as the boy stopped his examination and left her side.

"I bet you're uncomfortable huh?" he asked, not scornfully but curios.

Hinata opened her mouth to speak but nothing passed her chapped lips and she decided to just nod her head which took most of her remaining energy. She figured he had been watching her because he didn't ask again.

"I would be to if I was lying on a table naked," the boy said absentmindedly.

Hinata's face turned a bright beet color. Her eyes moved down and she saw her pale flesh exposed. Tears welled in her eyes as her blush spread from her head to her toes. The boy soon came back with a white sheet.

"Oh my, are you sick Hyuuga-san?" he asked, feeling her forehead with a gloved hand, making a tear slide down her face. "Oh I'm sorry I'm probably making you even more uncomfortable."

With that he shook out the sheet and laid it gently over Hinata's body covering her nakedness. A weak smile was seen for a brief moment on Hinata's face. The man sat down in the chair he had dragged up to her bed side earlier.

"My name is Tobi, who are you?" Tobi asked looking down at her.

Hinata gave him a puzzled look and then it seemed reality dawned on him. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh you can't talk can you?" he asked innocently.

Hinata shook her head once before she felt the urge to vomit and pass out at the same time.

"Sorry about the lamp, it probably hurt your eyes huh?" Tobi said, trying to converse with her by asking yes or no questions.

Hinata was about to answer again but stopped herself. She was fraternizing with the enemy! She shouldn't be answering anything! She was supposed to be thinking of a way out of there and fast. But as the boy peered down at her she decided it wouldn't hurt so she nodded.

"You seem quite, I bet you're lonely," Tobi said. "I'm lonely to; no one here likes me because they say I'm a kiss up. But I'm not I swear!" At this point the was standing and grasping Hinata's hand. "I'm just a good boy right Hyuuga-san!?"

Hinata smiled sadly and nodded making the young man sigh in relief and sit back down. He felt her hands for a few minutes before speaking again.

"You have hard hands Hyuuga-san," Tobi said, with the innocence of a child. "Why, is it because of your gentle fist?"

Hinata nodded again, her ears perked up as she heard a door slam somewhere above her. Tobi turned away after releasing her hand and staring toward the ceiling to. Straining her eyes Hinata saw a small window that showed inside a room. A man stood there, outlined in black and watching her with cold eyes. Suddenly the door to the room Hinata was in opened and in walked Itachi and the woman from before. The woman had short blue hair with a blue flower in it and the standard Akatsuki garb.

"Tobi, dismissed," the woman said as she pointed at the bed next to Hinata for Itachi.

"Hai, Konan-sama!" Tobi said standing, but not before leaning forward one more time. "It was nice meeting you Hyuuga-san I sure will be sad when you die."

Without another word he left, making Hinata sorely miss him and regret ever talking to him. Itachi lay on the bed next to her and she was able to move slightly to look at the young man. His head turned also to look at her. They gazed at each other for over a minute. If a bystander was watching it would seem as if they were lovers. But in that one glance Hinata poured out all her hatred and pain. Itachi welcomed the look and only stared blankly back.

Deciding she no longer wanted to see his face she turned away again, Itachi doing the same. Her eyes shut momentarily and she let the fear flood in.

"No worries," the woman Konan said. "You won't be killed immediately, you see Uchiha–san is going blind, so we thought in theory, mixing the Sharringan with the Byakugan will be most effective and since nine months is a little long we will be forcibly extracting your eye and Uchiha-sans eye and mixing the components."

Hinata paled at this she could only hope that if they were serious about this that they would use some sort of painkiller.

"But that's not your only use. You see I've found a way to morph the two tailed demon the three tailed demon and four tailed demon into one, and it needs nine months to grow in a warm place, say a woman's womb." Konan said with a sick smile while pulling out a scalpel. "Well be starting that experiment first."

* * *

Shukaku was too stunned to defend Gaara when the blonde leapt on him and began to aim punches for his face. Gaara dodged some but most hit his face before a wall of sand separated them.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?" Temari cried, restraining him.

"He wants to kill Hinata-chan!" Naruto gasped fighting against Temari.

"You're wrong Naruto, my brother has been nothing but kind to Hinata," Kankurou defended.

"His demon just said he was going to rip her apart," Naruto snapped, glaring at Gaara.

Everyone was silenced, Gaara looked up into the eyes of his three teammates for this mission, and he saw rage, disgust and most important protectiveness. He slowly looked up at his siblings whose eyes shown with fear, not for Hinata but fear of him. It hurt, more than any wound could, and he had finally gained their trust and lost it immediately. It was all Naruto's fault, and as Gaara's anger began to rise he felt all the wrongs Naruto had ever done bubble to his lips.

"Yes well it's your fault!" he spat looking at Naruto, whose anger was replaced with confusion immediately.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"It's your fault that Hinata came to Suna!" Gaara said coolly. "Your entire fault moron."

"I don't understand," Naruto said.

"She liked you; no LOVED you and you threw her away for someone else. You were blind to her affections and when she saw you with another she was hurt, devastated." Gaara continued ignoring the gasps and glances from the others. "You made her suffer so much she WISHED she was dead, she came to Suna and forgot about you. But you can't let sleeping dogs lie you have to come in here and cause more pain."

"She what?" Naruto said stunned.

"If you're so afraid of me hurting her then I'll leave and find her on my own, but I will not work with someone who has made her suffer so much," Gaara stated before disappearing into the woods.

* * *

Pain erupted in Hinata's abdomen, as Konan drew the scalpel across her stomach. Her mouth opened as if to cry out, but only a choked sob came. Konan chuckled a bit before making the cut wider and more painful. Tears fell from Hinata's opal eyes, she couldn't see anything that was going on, and the pain made her imagination run wild. Suddenly the pain ceased and she saw Konan walk away from her. She sighed in relief from the short break, her breath came in heavy gasps and the tears never stopped.

When Konan returned, she was carrying a small red egg like thing. But instead of a hard white shell it was more of a soft membrane. Hinata's eyes widened, was she going to put that inside her!? Konan read Hinata's facial expression and grinned.

"Yes this will be going inside you," Konan said, reaching a gloved hand down to rub Hinata's wound making pain shoot through her.

After the membrane egg was inside of her Konan began to sew the wound closed. Hinata no longer felt pain, all was numb and she strangely felt…tired. Her eyes began to drift closed when she felt her hand being practically crushed. Hazy eyes looked down at her arm and followed it to see another arm, and a hand holding tightly onto hers. It was Itachi's, he had his pale hand clasped tightly around Hinata's limp one and she looked at him with confusion.

"No sleeping," he said in his smooth monotone. "If you sleep there will be no waking up."

Although Hinata wanted to keep her eyes open her body was shutting down and she knew Itachi was right. She gave his hand a soft squeeze before closing her eyes to leave the world behind.

* * *

The smell of burning flesh filled Naruto's nose as a bomb went off a few yards away and Temari and Kiba were blown back. He would help if only if he could but he was busy with his own his Akatsuki member. The man had a huge scythe and nothing Naruto did seemed to effect. Neji, Shino, and Kankurou were busy battling what seemed to be a giant carnivorous Venus flytrap. Just as Naruto dodged another swing from the scythe man he saw Shino almost lost his arm as the huge plant snapped shut. The Akatsuki he member that Naruto signaled to the Akatsuki fighting Neji, the plant nodded and both immediately disappeared.

"Catch the last one!" Naruto cried turning to face the long haired blonde who was now captured by crow. "Where's Hinata-chan!?" Naruto cried, feeling strange saying her name.

"Oh, are you Naruto un?" Deidara asked curious with a mocking smile. "She seemed to like me a lot more then you un!"

Naruto's face flushed and his heart sank while everyone else glared at Deidara who just stood there smirking.

"I'll ask again, where is Hinata-chan!?" Naruto roared, trying to hide his frustration.

"Which one of you is Gaara un? She thought Sasori was Gaara." Deidara said avoiding the question.

"Where is Hinata-sama?" Neji growled, unable to control himself and threatening him with a kunai knife.

"Well about now she should be an operating room un," Deidara said thoughtfully as everyone else paled. "To bad it's the end for you un! Katsu."

With that the clone of the pyrotechnics genius of the Akatsuki exploded. Naruto and the others would have been dead if there hadn't been a sand shield lessening the blow a great deal. Naruto stumbled to his feet along with the rest of his team. Gaara lay motionless in the middle of the clearing.

"We have to get back to Suna NOW," Temari said kneeling next to her younger brother.

"And abandon Hinata-san?" Shino asked. "You know Gaara wouldn't want you to just leave her."

"I know but we can get more ninja's and come back!" Kankurou exclaimed helping Temari lift Gaara.

"Alright we'll go back," Kiba said.

"What are you talking about? We can't abandon her!" Naruto cried.

"Naruto," Neji said in a quiet voice. "I don't want to leave her either but what choice do we have?"

"We can stay here!" Naruto defended. "Stay here and fight!"

"We need help, that Akatsuki just proved that, we have to go!" Temari said, turning and heading back to Suna.

The others followed her silently leaving Naruto standing in the practically demolished clearing.

"I'll be back Hinata-chan, I promise." Naruto murmured before following the others.

* * *

Hinata was surprised when she opened her eyes to find a bright light, she had dreamed of heaven but it had never seemed like this. Was she dead? She didn't think so because every time she breathed she felt pain.

"So you're finally awake, Hyuuga-san," Konan said as she moved the light away from Hinata's eyes. "You're lucky," She continued as Hinata felt how stiff her arm was and her eyes were drawn to an I.V. "Itachi doesn't donate his blood…ever."

Hinata's eyes found the I.V bag filled with the dark crimson blood. A strange wave of gratitude washed over her but was soon replaced by terror as Konan put on a fresh pair of gloves. She picked up a needle and walked towards Hinata. The Hyuuga closed her eyes, expecting the pain from the needle but felt nothing. She cracked one eye open only to see the needle being removed from Itachi's arm.

"Sorry no painkillers are available," Konan said, smiling and picking up what seemed to be clamps.

Hinata's eye lids were folded back to prevent her from closing her eyes. Then a pair of what seemed to be tongs was brought to her eyes. Hinata let out a small whimper as it neared its destination. An explosion shook the hideout and Konan was knocked backwards into a cart of medical tools. Itachi was slowed down by the drugs he was administered and sat up sluggishly. He reached for Hinata who was immediately pulled away by someone. She was quickly wrapped tightly in the sheet and lifted off the table. Itachi had finally stood and was about to go for Hinata when her savior kicked the table she was on at Itachi. As the two fled the Akatsuki hideout, Hinata only barely registered that the man carrying her was wearing something shiny over his eyes before unconsciousness over took her.

**A/N: Well here's the next chapter please tell me how it was! Oh I'm starting a new fic and no one has told me about it yet so if you could please do so! Thanks! And REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey they're all my faithful readers! I'm starting this chapter about a day before my dead line so please forgive me if it's very brief and fast paced. I would also like to apologize if the last chapter offended anybody. I wanted to get the medical stuff as accurate as possible, so again I'm sorry and it won't happen again. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 18**

A pair of striking aqua eyes glared up at the hospital ceiling. The young Kazekage felt like killing something. Here he was in the hospital as an honored guest in Suna was being dissected by a group of S class criminals. But even that didn't bother him as much as the thought of being useless to help his precious people as Naruto put it. The door to his room opened with a small creak and his eyes darted in the direction of the door. He saw a pink head bob towards him. Bright green eyes met his briefly before backing up a few feet.

"Hello, Kazekage-sama," the girl said as Gaara sat up. "I am Haruno Sakura, apprentice to Lady Tsunade and your caretaker for the next few days."

Gaara remained silent as he sat up and scooted against a pillow, before his eyes rested on the girl. He recognized her almost immediately as the weakling he tried to kill in the final part of the chunin exams. Her pink hair still remained short and her face still held the slight roundness of childhood, but she had grown a little taller and she looked more confident then before which annoyed Gaara to no end. He was used to seeing shy people who were demure and relied on others for support. It made Gaara feel needed and wanted. His mind began to play with new thoughts, thoughts that maybe it wasn't the personality he missed but the person.

"Gaara-sama?" Sakura asked trying to catch the handsome red heads attention.

He turned and looked at the now blushing girl. His gaze remained fixed on her face never moving. Finally Sakura got so flustered she stuttered out a response that Gaara didn't register. She stood up and ran out of the room the door slamming shut behind her, causing Gaara to glare at the closed door, and he decided on one thing. It definitely was the person he missed.

Naruto stood at the gates of Suna facing Temari and Kankurou. Neji, Kiba and Shino stood on his right with Tsunade who was arguing with Jiraya.

"So you're leaving right?" Temari asked, as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Naruto said uneasily.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to get her back," Kankurou said reassuringly.

"I won't stop looking, you know that right?" Naruto asked.

Both of the siblings smiled and nodded, before the hyperactive ninja turned to the other leaf ninjas.

"You won't be coming back with us, are you Naruto?" Kiba asked, with a slightly crest fallen look.

"No," Naruto said. "But if you're worried that I'll abandon you guys, you're wrong, I'm coming back in about a year."

"Of course," Shino said nodding.

"But we have not given up on Hinata-sama yet," Neji almost spat.

"I know! I know!" Naruto defended. "But I won't give up either."

Neji smirked at that and nodded as Tsunade stomped over to her group of ninjas.

"None of you will look for Hinata," Tsunade said grumpily.

"WHAT!? WHY NOT?" All of them yelled in unison.

"I have to send Anbu nothing lower," Tsunade stated.

"But Hinata's my friend!" Naruto defended.

"And our teammate," Shino added, restraining Kiba with a pale hand on his shoulder.

"And our honored guest!" Kankurou spat, because Temari was to stunned to reply.

"Lady Tsunade," Neji said in the calmest voice he could muster. "I can understand why you wouldn't want them to go."

He received many glares and shocked looks from the people around him, but he ignored them and focused solely on Tsunade.

"Demo, I am Hinata-sama's protector, her guardian, I can't just leave her. I refuse." Neji said the Byakugan automatically activating itself.

Tsunade looked at him sadly and shook her head almost disappointed. Her brown eyes fixed onto Neji's angry white ones, and immediately the teen knew what she would say.

"I'm sorry Neji but there is a good chance that Hinata-san is already dead." Tsunade said her eyes never leaving Neji's. "We have to send anbu to retrieve her body."

Silence fell over everyone in the group and no one moved. Tears formed at the edges of Temari's eyes while the boys clenched their fists. Tsunade let her head fall onto her chest and walked away back into Suna to meet with the Kazekage. Neji looked as if he had been smacked in the face. He fell to his knees and held his head in his hands as the great Hyuuga genius felt defeated.

"NO!" Naruto roared. "I will not give up, I WILL find her, I swear!"

A pearl eye opened to see sunlight streaming through a canopy. Hinata tested her limbs and began to move; finally she sat up and looked around her almost wildly. She realized she was in a tent and next to her was a pile of clothes she didn't recognize. A shaky hand reached out and she picked up the clothes and realized they were left for her. She pulled them on quickly, only then noticing the bandage's covering her stomach. As she noticed the bandages over her torso she also noticed that she couldn't see anything through her left eye. She was right eye dominant, which was why she hadn't noticed before.

Her hand felt around her face until she found a makeshift eye patch made out of bandages and she began to freak out. Was her eye gone!? She quickly began the seals for her Byakugan and activated it. The world spun in a blurb of black and white and she thought she was going to puke, but the good thing was that she could see through the eye patch meaning she still had her left eye but it was hazy. She fell to her knees as pain shot through her head. A shadow soon loomed over her and the Byakugan turned off as her body prepared to protect itself against the newest threat.

"So you're finally awake," a girl with red hair said as she set down a tray of food in front of Hinata. "Eat up, Kabuto says it's the only way you'll get better."

Kabuto? Where had Hinata heard that name before?

"Kabuto…." Hinata murmured to her self accidentally.

"Yeah you probably know who Kabuto is, he was a traitor to your village after all." The girl said seating herself next to Hinata.

The Hyuuga girl shuddered as she recalled what Naruto had told her during the third part of the chunin exam. Before she could ask any more questions a wave of nausea hit her immediately and she felt her stomach lurch. She bent forward on her knees touched the ground with her head while she moaned.

"Oh god I'm not a medical ninja!" the girl cried. "Stop that! Stop it right now!"

Hinata sat back up and her cheeks puffed out as if she was going to puke. The sound ninja wasted no time in dragging Hinata to her feet and outside. She grabbed Hinata's loose hair and twisted it behind her head before forcing her head down as she puked. Afterwards Hinata felt light headed and almost tipped over onto the sound ninja.

"Whoa there, lets get you back into the tent." The girl said as she opened the flap and helped Hinata lie down.

A strange feeling filled Hinata with a deep insatiable hunger; she pounced at the tray of food and began to eat. The sound ninja watched in repulsion as Hinata continued to stuff her face. Soon the whole plate was gone and Hinata still wanted more. She looked up at the stunned sound ninja girl.

"A-ano do you have anymore food?" Hinata asked embarrassed.

"Holy crap man!" The girl cried. "I thought Hyuuga's were supposed to be dainty and polite but that was…that was…WOW."

Hinata blushed an even deeper red and hid her face behind her hair, which was at her upper back a little below the shoulder blades. The girl got up and left the tent only to come back with more food before handing it to Hinata.

"Here you go," she said.

Hinata immediately finished off that amount of food and was shockingly still hungry. Her face turned beet red and she lowered her eyes, the girl in front of her immediately understood what that look meant and blushed herself.

"Holy crap! What are you pregnant?" the girl exclaimed.

Hinata thought she was going to pass out from embarrassment before she remembered the bundle she now carried. She hung her head in shame and clasped her hands over her still flat stomach. The sound ninja girl was quiet and she didn't even move. Finally she stood.

"My name is Kyoko, I'll be helping you until we arrive to the sound village," she said before leaving the tent.

Hinata lay down and closed her eyes. Tears made the edges of her vision fuzzy and she was forced to open the only eye she could. Time was no longer a factor in Hinata's life, minutes, hours, days could have passed by and she wouldn't have even noticed. She was dead to the world as it was dead to her. Until one day when Kyoko entered followed by another young man that Hinata didn't care enough to recognize.

" I was ordered to go ahead to the sound village with Kabuto, Uchiha-san," Kyoko said as she stood over Hinata who just stared. "She is ready to be moved but you must be gentle with her, and although her eye is healing almost perfectly she is not permitted to use the Byakugan understand?"

"Hn," Sasuke said, as he crossed his arms and glared down at Hinata who cringed under his gaze.

Kyoko then left, Hinata hoped she would bring Sasuke with her but instead he still stared down at her. After a long moment of silence he sat on the floor next to her and picked up the bowels of spoiled food at her side.

"Haven't had much of an appetite since the first day huh?" Sasuke asked receiving no reply from Hinata. "I heard though that on the first day you ate like a pig."

Hinata's face flushed and she turned her head away. She refused to eat only because of the demons inside of her. If she didn't eat she only assumed that the demons weren't eating either.

"Do you want to seem weak?" Sasuke asked, receiving a shocked half glare from her.

"N-no," she said in a cracked voice.

"Well then sit up, prove to me you can stand on your own feet," Sasuke spat.

Hinata's eyes shone with anger and she stood up a little shakily but stood nonetheless.

"You shouldn't be so full of yourself Uchiha-san," Hinata replied, saying his name with more venom.

Sasuke stood smirking and led the way outside, Hinata glanced around herself and found that once again she was in an unidentifiable forest. He led the way through the camp, of course attracting all the glances of the other sound ninja. Sasuke led her into a clearing and stopped to face her.

"You're weak," he said simply, making Hinata bite her lip and glare at him. "I cannot have you even as a companion if you are so easily crushed. Here I am to make you strong."

Without another word Sasuke lunged at her and reached for her throat. Hinata only barely dodged. But suddenly pain shot through her spine as he sent a kick against her back and knocked her foreword and pinned her to the ground.

"You rely to heavily on your Byakugan and fighting style if you don't experiment using more then one style you will certainly lose and that makes you weak." Sasuke replied getting off of her. "From today on I will train you in all forms of regular Taijutsu even as we travel, understood?"

Hinata nodded before she was pulled back onto her feet and Sasuke began his assault once more. Sasuke's training was probably even more strenuous then Gaara's. They trained day in and day out even when they were traveling. Hinata learned lots of new things and ways to manipulate old things to work like new things.

At first he had her block, then when she could officially block he taught her blocking by moving. After, he taught her how to block and counter all at once and he explained and soon every day fit in that routine. However about three weeks of training with Sasuke she received an unexpected visit from him. He opened the tent while she was still trying to succumb to sleep.

"Tomorrow morning," Sasuke began as Hinata leaned in. "You will need to wake up exactly when I say so, no later and no sooner understood?"

Hinata nodded so no one else would hear and with that Sasuke left. At around 3:30 the next morning Hinata was shaken awake by the young man covered in blood.

"Get up and follow me, what ever you do, don't stop for anything," Sasuke warned and with that he grabbed her hand and snuck out of the tent.

Hinata's eyes couldn't help wandering over the countless sound ninja's bodies littering the path.

"A-are they dead?" Hinata asked nervously.

"No," Sasuke stated. "They are only unconscious which is why I need you to move as fast as you can."

Hinata followed Sasuke and they finally came to a stop at the edge of the woods. Sasuke unhooked a cloak and helped Hinata tie it around her neck.

"Why are you helping me escape Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Orochimaru wants us to get married and have a kid with the Byakugan and the sharringan. However I'm not a big fan for that idea, so I decided to let you go." Sasuke said as he finished fastening the cape around her shoulders.

"I see, thank you Uchiha-san," Hinata said bowing and getting ready to leave.

"Wait you're not in the clear yet, first we have to get you to Suna," and with that Sasuke began their trek back to Suna.

**A/N: I know crappy and way to rushed. I would however appreciate f you review. Oh and if you could can you check out my other new story? Thanks again and remember read and review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Hey everyone. Today is my birthday so I'm going to share the love and post a new chapter. Sorry for the long wait but we had to plan like fifteen parties and finals are coming up soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Chapter 18:**

Hinata leapt from branch to branch behind Sasuke. She had grown accustomed to his company, not to say she enjoyed it at all. He was cold and quiet, just like Gaara. But Gaara was at least forgiving and modest while the youngest Uchiha had such a big ego Hinata was surprised he didn't suffocate in it. For example one time while he was trying to teach her how to spar she had almost beat him, until he flipped her over and almost broke her jaw in anger of losing. From that day foreword they had never spared again.

She continued her training with Sasuke, her target now being a practice dummy, and was glad to see that she was getting better and better everyday. Even her stamina seemed to increase by leaps and bounds. Not only was Sasuke being true to his word and bringing her back to Suna but her eye had healed and her Byakugan had even improved since then.

Sasuke had made them stop for camp later that night. As he was stoking the fire he glanced over at the pale girl sitting across from him, smiling to her self and playing with what seemed to be a butterfly. He frowned to himself. His hand reached for his kunai pouch as a white bird landed near Hinata.

"Hinata when I tell you to, I want you to run understood." Sasuke said, shocking Hinata into almost dropping the butterfly.

"W-why, Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked, standing.

"Just do what I say," Sasuke snapped.

Hinata nodded and sat back down trying to avoid all suspicions.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata flicked her eyes up to meet his as an answer.

"GO!" Sasuke shouted, hurling a kunai at the small white bird.

Hinata had already jumped to her feet, and looked back momentarily only to see a small white bird open it's mouth to give out a silent squawk of pain. Her legs stopped moving as she looked at the bird sadly. She couldn't understand why Sasuke would kill such an innocent bird, or at least that's what she thought until she saw the bird start to spark as if it was a robot malfunctioning. It wasn't a bird at all, and now that Hinata knew that she had to find a way to outrun the explosion sure to follow one of Deidara's infamous bombs.

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Gaara was sitting in his office, reading and re-reading his paperwork, with three plates of cold food next to the papers. Not a single piece of food had passed through his lips since the Anbu came form Konoha. Naturally it made him anxious. Everyone refused to tell him anything about Hinata's condition but he knew what Anbu meant, death. He didn't think that she was dead, quite the opposite; he thought no KNEW she was still alive. If the Akatsuki would go through so much trouble to capture her they wouldn't just kill her.

He had wanted to look for her again the second he was well enough but his siblings made him make a promise. If the Anbu weren't back in a week he could send all of Suna to look for Hinata and they wouldn't say a word. It had been two days and Gaara was so impatient that he thought he couldn't even wait for the week to be up. There was no telling how long the Akatsuki would keep Hinata alive, and surely as soon as her purpose was served she would be killed. He placed his head in his hands and was about to have a conversation with himself, something he would never let anybody hear, lest they thought he was even more of a freak. He opened his mouth and prepared to speak when his office door slammed open.

"What the hell…" Gaara trailed off as he saw a group of Jounin enter with a bloody body of a Konoha Anbu.

"Sir we found him walking the desert and brought him straight to you," one Jounin stated.

"And why isn't he in the hospital?" Gaara asked coldly.

"There is no possible way he will survive," another Jounin said. "We thought it would be better for you to get the information he found out instead of letting him rot in the hospital."

Gaara stood and approached the group; he stopped in front of them with his arms crossed. The Konoha Anbu jumped towards him and curled their fingers around his collar, smearing his pale throat with the dying mans blood.

"Everyone…dead," he began in a raspy voice. "Ambush at the border…"

"Who did this?" Gaara asked calmly as Shukaku turned restlessly at the sight of blood.

"Red…clouds," Was all the man said before coughing blood onto the floor of Gaara's office and collapsing.

Gaara's eyes darted towards the Jounin and they all nodded before disappearing. Gaara walked over to the corner of his office and fastened on his gourd before opening the door and exiting. Leaving the corpse of the Anbu on the floor, blood pooling around his skull and a torn piece of black cloth with a red cloud lying a few centimeters from his fingertips.

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Hinata began to sprint away through the forest as the explosion almost deafened her. She knew she couldn't out run the explosion and should find some shelter to block most of the impact but she found she couldn't stop running. Some primal instinct was driving her on; the instinct to survive blocked everything else out of her. What Hinata didn't notice was not only was her mentality changing but so was her appearance. Her dark indigo hair turned a fiery orange and stuck up in long spikes, two red cat ears appeared on her head and three whiskers sprouted from her cheeks. Before she knew what else was going on she was running like a wild animal. She glanced back and the reality of the situation her like a ton of bricks, the explosion would catch up to her in less then a minute. Without a second thought she threw herself on the ground and covered her head with her arms as the blistering heat overcame her.

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Sasuke had seen Hinata turn back and look at the explosive clay bird. He almost jumped down to grab her when she began to run again. Sasuke jumped to the tree to his right and began to follow her at a safe distance that wouldn't be affected by the explosion. Hinata would be doomed and he knew it but he had no choice but to abandon her as the explosion finally reached its climax.

His stomach dropped as he sprinted towards the last spot he saw her after the flames subsided. However instead of seeing her burned body he found a small rock hard shell with markings on top. He walked over and gave it a soft tap with his foot and nothing happened. Reaching behind him he pulled out his Katana and smashed the hilt on the top of the dome. It cracked like he had hoped and then splintered down. Soon enough it crumbled to pieces, revealing a quivering Hinata.

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The heat of the explosion made her close her eyes. Pain wracked her frame and it brought tears to her eyes, then suddenly it stopped. Her eyes remained closed in fear of what she would see once she opened them. Would it be the pearly white gates, or the fiery pits of hell? She felt herself being lifted into a sitting position, and she heard her name faintly. Slowly her lavender eyes opened only to be met by obsidian. She blinked a few times before recognizing the person and the voice.

"Hinata are you okay?" Sasuke asked, slightly distracted by dark black markings that were fading into her skin.

"Sasuke-san…" Hinata muttered weakly before Sasuke helped her to her feet.

They traveled in silence and finally reached a river. He sat her down on a rock before reaching into his kunai pouch and pulling out a roll of bandages.

"Hinata where are the worst burns?" Sasuke asked.

She whimpered and held up her arms. Sasuke walked towards her and rolled her sleeves up, only to see her burns already healing. As calm as he could he wrapped the bandages around Hinata's arms from wrist to elbow. While he was doing so he began to reflect. He had known about the Akatsuki trailing them, in fact he counted on it. However, what he didn't know was how close the Akatsuki would be. But because of today's events he needed to proceed with the plan and he needed to do it quick. It would have to be tonight.

Later that night Sasuke waited for Hinata to fall asleep before he got his plan ready. After an hour or so, when the moon was hanging high in the sky Sasuke took a bucket of water and doused the fire. Hinata awoke to the sound of the fire sizzling away. Her Hyuuga eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and she shivered as the remaining warmth suddenly fled from her body.

"Sasuke-san? What is it?" She asked rubbing her eyes wearily.

"Get up," he said gruffly yanking her to her feet.

"W-what's going on?" Hinata asked more anxiously now.

"We're being followed," he murmured as he leapt into the trees Hinata following close behind.

Hinata's heartbeat quickened and she swallowed hard, before following close behind Sasuke. Another tremor ran up her spine as a harsh wind blew in from the north. Hinata shut her eyes for a moment and suddenly caught the scent of sand close by. Her eyes snapped back open and a happy smile spread across her face as she picked up speed without knowing. Tears stung at her eyes as she even passed Sasuke, anxious to know that what she suspected was true. And sure enough she finally reached the edges of the trees and a desert wasteland stretched before her.

Sasuke watched Hinata breakdown as she reached the border to wind country. She jumped down and got onto her hands and knees as if to worship the dirt itself. He shook his head in disgust as he reached into his kunai pouch and pulled out a long rope. He sneaked up behind the sobbing girl and kneeled behind her. When Hinata found that her hands were no longer hiding her tears of joy she found a tight constriction around her chest. Looking down she noticed pale hands wrapping and tying a rope around her tightly.

"Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked curious and sniffling every now and then.

"Gomen but I don't think you'll be getting back to Suna," Sasuke said, before dragging her up and pushing her against a tree and taking another rope, securing her to the tree.

"Why are you doing this? What are you going to do with me?" Hinata asked her voice rising in pitch.

"I need you Hinata, more then you will ever know," Sasuke said smirking at her as she struggled against the ropes.

"For what? Why am I so important? " She asked weak and pale.

A noise came from some trees behind them and Sasuke's smile broadened. He reached behind his back and began sliding his Katana from its sheath before glancing back.

"I need you…for bait."

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The full moon hung in the sky, illuminating all in the desert. Gaara vaguely noticed he could see his shadow, but that thought quickly came and went, while once again he was reminded of what he was doing in the harsh desert of wind country in the dead of night.

_Flash Back:_

"_The Konoha Anbu are dead, all of them? Are you sure?" Temari asked pacing anxiously around the meeting room of the Kazekage tower._

"_Hai," one Jounin said. "We found broken pieces of their masks and other body…parts." He finished quietly._

"_Oh man we are in so much trouble!" Kankurou groaned. _

_Gaara stayed silent through the whole disjointed conversation. One thing remained in his mind, Temari's promise._

"_Did anybody contact Hokage-sama?" Temari asked._

_Both of her brothers shook their heads and looked down, ashamed. She sighed and grabbed a piece of paper before scrawling a message across it with her awful handwriting. She shoved the paper into the Jounin's face before turning to face her brothers again._

"_Deliver that to Hokage-sama, I want it there TONIGHT! Understand?" Temari snapped at the Jounin._

"_Hai," he said before disappearing in a poof of smoke._

_The silence hung in the air for a few minutes. The tension was thicker then anything any of them had ever felt and it made them want to say something but the right words wouldn't come. Finally someone spoke, it was Gaara. _

"_I'm going," he said, the two words hanging in the air undisturbed like a death sentence._

"_Demo, they won't let you," Kankurou said quietly. _

"_At least not without the councils permission," Temari said._

"_If we make a meeting right now you can probably be off in a day or two…" Kankurou added before being cut off as Gaara slammed a fist against the table._

"_No more waiting, I'm going now," he growled, heading for the door. _

"_Gaara if you go and they notice you'll be in big trouble," Temari said worried for her younger brothers future. "If you want to find her let me or Kankurou go, that way you can stay the Kazekage and prove yourself to these cretins!"_

"_No," his voice boomed although it was far from shouting. "One of you will cover for me while I'm gone, the council will not have to know."_

"_But Gaara…." Temari began only to be cut off by Kankurou._

"_You have until tomorrow morning," Kankurou said. "I know the councils a bunch of old farts but they're pretty smart, so I can't guarantee any more time."_

_Gaara nodded as he opened the door, the sand in his gourd swirling excitedly. Temari stared at them both in disbelief._

"_Gaara you cant be serious!" Temari said, but Gaara ignored her as he used his third eye to check the corridors. "Kankurou you cant be approving of this! I mean I know your reckless but this is a little much don't you think!?" _

_While Temari continued to argue with Kankurou about his role as the older brother, Gaara slipped out the door only stopping to give Kankurou one more grateful nod that he returned with a small smile Temari hadn't noticed. And without another word he was off past the gates of Suna and into the harsh desert._

_End Flash Back_

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**(A/n: this is with Temari and Kankurou, present time.)**

"Temari, it's okay. He's gone," Kankurou said, cutting his sister off mid-rant.

Temari gave Kankurou a weak glare before walking toward the door. She turned back to her younger brother one last time.

"If you're going to pretend to be Gaara you're going to need some of my eyeliner and some hair dye." Temari said, appraisingly.

"Arigotou, Temari" Kankurou said, walking towards his sister.

"Well now that he's willing to risk life and limb for her, how long do you think it will take for him to realize he's in love with her?" Temari asked curiously opening the door for both of them.

"Well you know how boys are Temari, so I'd give it about an eternity," Kankurou sighed, and held his head in his hands as he left the conference room and headed toward the office.

Temari giggled, and closed the door behind her as she began to devise a plan to get the Kazekage and Hyuuga heiress together.

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"B-bait?" Hinata asked, more scared then ever.

"That's right, bait for the Akatsuki. Especially for a specific one." Sasuke said the last part with scorn.

"You mean your b-brother right?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke whirled around and raised his hand as if to smack the poor unsuspecting heiress but instead let it fall to his side.

"He is no brother of mine, he is vermin without a name," Sasuke spat.

Hinata cringed from the sheer hatred in the young mans voice. However she quickly got over it and instead her fear turned to anger.

"But you promised to bring my back to Suna! You promised!" Hinata cried.

"I lied." Sasuke said simply. "People lie little Hinata, and unless you understand how to tell lying from honesty you will never survive in this world."

"I can't believe that, I WONT believe that," Hinata commented her voice getting louder. "You are a good person Sasuke, and I believe that you were really going to take me to Suna."

"You're mistaken," Sasuke snorted. "In fact I was supposed to dispose of my brother the first time you got yourself kidnapped, in fact I would have been able to if it wasn't for the baka Kabuto!"

Hinata looked at him shocked and hurt, so the whole time he was training her, and being civil to her was all just an act? Just so he could dispose of his brothers. That's when she remembered that the last thing she saw when she blacked out was a shimmer.

"Kabuto's glasses" Hinata murmured.

"That's right, he was the one who found you first, he saved you," Sasuke said. "If I was there first, I wouldn't be stuck with someone as useless as you and my revenge would have been complete. I heard Itachi was drugged. He would have been easy pickings."

Hinata stared at him in disgust, shocking the young Uchiha who had never seen such a look on her face.

"You're a coward," Hinata said outright and without hesitation.

"What did you say weakling!?" Sasuke shouted, grabbing Hinata by the throat.

"I said you are a COWARD!" Hinata screamed.

Sasuke let go of Hinata's throat and he fell to his knees before grasping his raven locks and pulling on them. Hinata got worried and tried to apologize for what she said.

"Gomen, I'm sorry Sasuke-san," Hinata said. "I was just a little angry, you're not a…"

"I am a coward," he whispered.

"Demo Sasuke I didn't mean it," Hinata whimpered.

"But you're right," he continued. "I am a coward."

Hinata was silent; she didn't know what to say to that. She had never been very close to Sasuke but she figured that she should at least try to cheer him up.

"Demo I doubt you're a coward…" Hinata tried before being cut off by Sasuke.

"You're to kind," Sasuke said giving her a rare wistful smile. "You were right, I was going to fight Itachi while he was drugged. That way he couldn't fight back."

"That doesn't mean you're a coward," Hinata said, searching for the right words. "it just means you want to make the man that made you suffer, go through the same pain you did, just in a different way."

"No, I was afraid," Sasuke, admitted. "I'm afraid I'm to weak to kill him."

Hinata had nothing to say to that. She had felt that way many times, never to the point of actually killing someone but she had felt insignificant and weak.

"Sasuke-san, I've felt that way to," Hinata said, the words just flew from her mouth. "At times I want to use my unfair advantage to, but I'm better then that, and so are you. So train Sasuke, push yourself to your limit and then you'll beat your brother."

Sasuke looked up at Hinata as if she was an angel. He stood and smiled before heading behind the tree and started to untie the ropes.

"Arigotou Sasuke-san," Hinata said smiling.

But they're happy moment didn't last long as loud laughter filled the clearing. Sasuke immediately stopped untying the ropes and held his Katana at the ready.

"Wow how sweet un," Deidara said standing in front of them. "Sasuke and Hinata tied to a tree d-y-i-n-g."

Hinata gulped and Sasuke growled at the blonde. Another rustling noise came from their left and the red headed puppet master appeared followed by the shark man.

"Stop teasing Deidara and just get on with it." Kisame whined.

"Well, I want to know why Sasu-chan saved our princess, un" Deidara commented.

"I know why," another brisk voice hissed from the darkened corners of the trees.

Sasuke visibly paled and his eyes turned the deep blood red of the Sharringan. Hinata looked over at Sasuke.

"Itachi," he hissed.

Said Uchiha jumped in front of the two teens and glared with his own Sharringan.

"Sasuke, step aside," Itachi said calmly.

"I will defeat you," Sasuke snapped.

"Oh please, I'm not here for you. We only want the Hyuuga." Itachi sighed.

Sasuke looked like he had been slapped in the face. But the astonishment left his face almost immediately and was replaced with rage. He swung his Katana towards the tree and the next thing Hinata knew she was freed from the ropes.

"Run Hinata," Sasuke said, holding his Katana up to keep her shielded. "I'll distract them long enough for you to get away.

"Demo Sasuke-san, what about you?" Hinata asked, almost on the verge of tears.

"Just run!" He cried before charging at Itachi.

Hinata did as she was told and continued to run, soon reaching the desert she forced chakra into her feet in order to keep running. However Deidara and Kisame were in hot pursuit.

"Awww come on Hinata-chan, we're only after what's inside you un!" Deidara yelled.

That's when Hinata was reminded of the horrible beast growing inside of her. She felt the true fact of the monster she had become hit her and she began to run faster. Tears fell from her eyes and she reached into her Kunai holster and without thinking she stabbed herself. Warm blood dripped from her abdomen and down her legs, but she didn't care.

"Deidara, did she just stab herself?" Kisame asked skidding to a stop.

"I think she did un," Deidara said looking confused while staring after the still fleeing girl.

"Does this mean we abort the mission?" Kisame asked.

"I guess so un," and with that both Akatsuki members left the Hyuuga heiress to bleed to death, alone in the desert.

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The silver sand seemed to stretch endlessly as Gaara continued to search. From a distance he saw another person wondering in the desert stumbling. He picked up his pace recognizing the scent of blood on the wind. Finally he reached the person and he felt his heart stop.

"Gaara-sama?" Hinata murmured her hands pressed firmly against the bleeding wound.

The Hyuuga heiress swung dizzily before her knees gave out. Gaara rushed to her and caught her before her face and the sand got up close and personal. He shifted her a bit before he sped off to Suna, still anxious of what was going to happen next.

**A/N: HAPPY B-DAY TO ME! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review guys! It would mean the world!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I think I'll end this soon but I'm not sure so let me know ok? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter: 20**

The desert world was silent as the longest night in the young Kazekage's life dragged on and on. He watched, the world muted around him as the doctors operated desperately on Hinata. Red, a color he used to yearn for. Blood, a thing he used to crave. However now seeing Hinata's blood on the sharp doctor tools and his own clothes made him want to vomit. A hand fell onto his shoulder lightly, and his sharp aqua eyes darted towards his brother before shifting back to the young woman in intensive care.

"We're in big trouble," Kankurou said, breaking the silence, even though Gaara barely paid him any attention. "Temari is trying to buy you time but it won't last forever."

_Flashback_

_ Kankurou sat in his brother's chair, back facing the door as one of the elders spoke to him._

_ "The Hyuuga girl is probably dead Kazekage-sama and we as the council refuse to take the blame!" the old man said._

_ He kept his mouth shut even though he wanted to lash back out in Gaara's defense. But I single word would blow their cover._

_ "Here is all you need to do Kazekage-sama," the elder continued. "Make a formal apology and sign a marriage treaty with Konoha."_

_ Kankurou eyes widened and he fell out of the chair in shock, in turn making it hit the desk. The elder leapt back and responded in a high pitched squeak of fear._

_ "Hn," Kankurou grunted, hoping to fool the old bag._

_ "What does that mean Gaara-sama!" the elder cried. "That's how you have responded to all of our opinions on marriage since the Hyuuga came here!"_

_ Kankurou grinned evilly, a delicate plan forming in his head. He remained silent to see what the elder would say._

_ "Gaara-sama, are you in love with Hinata Hyuuga?" the elder asked._

_ The grin grew on Kankurou's face and he stood a little hunched with his back turned to the elder. He was about to nod his head slowly and contemplative. That was until a shriek echoed from down stairs. Kankurou turned in surprise and the elder caught a look at his face. Unfortunately for Kankurou it wasn't one of the blindest old men in the council and he was immediately recognized. _

_ "What is the meaning of this!" the elder roared in outrage. _

_ The office door sprang open and Temari ran in, a distressed look covering her usual features. She grabbed Kankurou by the collar._

_ "What's going on? Did you see come back?" Temari asked._

_ Kankurou was about to shake his head when they were both interrupted by the angry shout of the elder._

_ "You were both in on it!?" he continued. "I would have expected it from Kankurou but Temari? I thought you were more responsible than that!"_

_ Both siblings were about to retort when they heard the door slam open again. All three pairs of eyes widened at the Kazekage standing before them with the bloody body of Hinata held against him. He fixed them with a stare that hid no emotions from the world, the eyes of a child._

_ "Temari…Kankurou…help," he said, his voice quivering._

_End Flashback _

Kankurou soon became angry, was Gaara even paying attention to him?

"Are you even listening to me!?" Kankurou snapped grabbing his younger sibling by the collar. "Temari is in there getting into trouble, possibly even getting demoted because of you!"

Gaara tugged his brother's hand off of him and he silently nodded. Kankurou realized what he had done and flushed in embarrassment. Gaara's pale hand pressed against the glass and he kept it there for a moment, before letting it slide down and hit his side. Kankurou watched in silence as Gaara mounted the stairs and headed toward the meeting room where Temari was being interrogated.

"WHAT!?" Tsunade shouted into the cold Konoha air as the Suna Jounin coward before her.

She was just on her way out for a drink when she had received the message. She read it over once more before rushing back into the Hokage tower. She slammed open the door to her office startling poor Shizune who thought she would tidy up her bosses office.

"We have an emergency!" Tsunade said stepping over her assistant and scrawling something on a piece of paper. "Shizune!"

"Hai Tsunade-sama!" The young woman said jumping to her feet.

"I need you to collect, Kurenai, Kakashi, Shino, Sakura, and Neji," Tsunade said, handing travel packs to Shizune. "Oh and by the way, be careful being Hokage, I don't know how long this will take."

"H-hai," Shizune said, paling before disappearing.

* * *

The Haruno family always prided themselves on the fact that they were extremely stubborn and sought out challenges, always calm and in control. Sakura stared at the ceiling of her room as her thoughts raced. She closed her eyes, a flash of red and a pale handsome face filled her mind and Sakura quickly opened her eyes again. Gaara, Kazekage of Suna. She didn't know what had begun her obsession with the Kazekage, but all she knew was it was here and here to stay. She grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her face. Why did she always have to go for the jaded guys? Her musings were interrupted by someone jumping through her window. She sat up holding a kunai against the perpetrators stomach.

"Sakura-san, could you shift that just a bit?" Shizune asked.

"Shizune!?" Sakura hissed. "What are you doing here, and why didn't you use the front door.

"Gomen, but your mother is very uh…obvious about her opinions." Shizune stated, before tossing one of the travel bags at her.

"A mission this late? What for?" Sakura asked standing and packing her bags.

"I don't know but I think it has something to do with Hinata Hyuuga," Shizune said as Sakura walked into the bathroom to change and collect her tooth brush and tooth paste.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. If they were going to investigate Hinata that would mean they were going to Suna. She rushed through her packing and headed to the northern gate as Shizune instructed. However as she was running she realized she hadn't changed from her pajamas. Yes, there was definitely something wrong with Sakura's mentality.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake regretted many things in his life. Standing in front of the memorial stone on this cool night he believed was the only way to come to face his biggest regret. During these moments he enjoyed being alone, and Shizune was reluctant to break his solitude.

"Ano, Kakashi-san?" Shizune particularly whispered.

"Hai, Shizune?" Kakashi asked, not even turning to face her.

"Hokage-sama needs you for a mission," Shizune said.

Kakashi stayed silent, a sign for her to elaborate and in a moment she did.

"I believe it has something to do with Hinata Hyuuga," Shizune said.

Kakashi remembered the day that the young Hyuuga heiress had heart failure for the second time, Kurenai hadn't eaten for a week and Sakura had cried every two minutes. He turned and faced Shizune only to be met with a travel pack.

"Tsunade-sama wants you by the northern gate as soon as possible." Shizune said.

Kakashi nodded and Shizune disappeared. He looked at the pack once more before turning back to the memorial stone and making a vow. This time he wouldn't fail.

* * *

Yuuhi Kurenai had never had a child. It wasn't like she didn't want one the right guy hadn't came along yet. That was until Asuma. She had found herself head over heels for the older Jounin and they had been dating since then. They had even made a plan to settle down, that was until Hinata went missing. Hinata was like Kurenai's only child, she was always kind and strong. Since the day she had disappeared from Suna, Kurenai had been thinking irrationally. Even to the point where she was suspended. Every night she had cried herself to sleep, if she even got sleep at all. Her crushed spirit even led to the semi-break up of her team. And now she stumbled along the streets. Wishing she could cry but all of her tears had run out.

"Kurenai!" Shizune said, running behind the older woman.

Kurenai turned and glared at the Hokage lapdog. It was all Tsunade's fault for letting Hinata go, out of Kurenai's reach.

"What do you want?" Kurenai tried to reply with venom, but only sounding weak instead.

"New mission," Shizune said tossing her a travel pack.

"I'm off probation?" Kurenai asked skeptical.

"Yes," Shizune said tossing Kurenai a soldier pill which the older woman caught and ate. "Be at the northern gate as soon as possible. Oh and I think this new mission is about Hinata." Without another word Shizune was gone.

Kurenai stood shell shocked for a minute before breaking out into a run towards the apartment her and Asuma shared. She would get her baby back.

* * *

Shino Aburame had always considered himself different. Yes he had his Kekai bugs but different in the sense of his personality. And he was right; no one quite had the same personality as the Aburame's. It was also very hard for an Aburame to find friends, but Shino had found not only one but two. However since Hinata disappeared he had gone from two to none. Kiba had gone off with his mother and sister for special training. When he was younger he had grown accustomed to not having friends, but now that he had them and lost them he came to realize he was lonely.

"Shino-san?" Shizune questioned.

Shino turned and nodded at the Hokage's apprentice, noticing the bag clutched in her hand.

"You're needed for a mission," Shizune said quickly handing him the bag and avoiding all physical contact. "I believe it's about Hinata. Meet at the northern gate as soon as possible."

Shizune was gone in another second. Shino looked down at the bag replaying Shizune's uneasiness and made up his mind. He decided then that he would find Hinata, or die trying.

* * *

The Hyuuga compound was silent and dark. The night had been like every other night lights out for children at 9:00 and 11:00 for adults, the only exception being the Hyuuga head. Hiashi sat in his office when he first noticed the intruder on the premises. He stood up and strode to his office door and waited until the unknown person stopped outside his door. He slid it opened grabbed Shizune and slid it shut behind her in mere seconds. Releasing her he took a seat back behind his desk before looking up at the young girl who seemed a little surprised at what just happened.

"Is there any news on my daughter?" Hiashi asked.

"Not that I know of, Hyuuga-sama," Shizune said bowing. "However I'm here to tell your nephew about his knew mission."

"If this mission has nothing to do with my daughter you may leave now," Hiashi said angrily, calling a maid from sleep to escort Shizune.

"Wait Hiashi-sama!" Shizune said, ignoring the maids quiet urges to follow her. "I believe it does have something to do with your daughter, I just wasn't told exactly what!"

Hiashi gave Shizune a skeptical look before glancing at the maid.

"Take Shizune-san to Neji's room," He stated.

"Hai," the maid answered immediately.

Shizune smiled at Hiashi before bowing and followed the maid out failing to notice his activated Byakugan.

* * *

Neji knew something was immediately wrong when he felt his uncle activate his Byakugan. He quickly approached his small closet and pulled on a mesh t-shirt just as he heard a soft knock. Approaching the door he held a kunai close to his side just in case, and slowly he opened the door. He tucked the Kunai at the two familiar faces in front of him. The maids bowed before leaving the two ninja alone.

"Is there any news on Hinata-sama?" Neji asked.

"No, but there is a mission that Tsunade wishes for you to partake in, I believe it has something to do with your cousin." Shizune said holding out the pack for him.

"Where?" he asked already packing a few more things.

"Northern gate," Shizune said.

"My Uncle knows?" Neji asked, confirming his suspicions with Shizune's nod.

He took the pack form Shizune who disappeared a moment later. Jumping out the window he got a head start cutting across the garden, focused only on his cousin. Hiashi watched this with pride. Then he did something he had only done once before since becoming a father. He placed his head in his hands and cried.

* * *

Tsunade watched in pleasure as her team formed in less than an hour. She would have enjoyed a job well done toast with Shizune but there were too many questions.

"SHUT UP!" Tsunade cried, silencing them all. "We are heading to Suna." She began seeing half of the group look up in hope. "HOWEVER, we will discuss the other details when we GET there, understand?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," they all chorused.

Tsunade smiled before signaling the opening of the gates. Silently she prayed that Hinata would be found soon, for everyone's sake.

* * *

Sasuke had never been an optimist, but as he lay on the ground staring up at the stars he couldn't help but think that things could have been a lot worse. After the Akatsuki had given up on following Hinata they came back and decided to have fun with him. Half his ribs broken five slashes and three broken bones later Itachi had finally called off the beating and with that they abandoned him there.

"Look who we have here," a smug voice said.

Sasuke grimaced recognizing the voice immediately as Kabuto's. Orochimaru's personal medical ninja kneeled next to Sasuke and slowly began to heal the young Uchiha's wounds.

"Oh and we've found the bodies, I have to say you do some messy work Sasuke." Kabuto added, sending a sharp pain through Sasuke's body.

And although Sasuke knew it could have been a lot worse as he looked up he couldn't help but thinking it did.

**A/N: I know pointless chapter. But I have a little writers block and things like this always clear it. The next chapter will be up soon hopefully! R and R!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Happy thanksgiving! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto **

**Chapter 21**

If you were a bystander and happened to glance into the young Hyuuga's room you would think that she was peacefully sleeping, unaware that there was a storm brewing on the inside.

Hinata felt as if she was in a dark void. No light, her eyes were unable to adjust so she sat in the pitch-blackness. To her it felt as she was sitting in a chair her feet dangling below. Her heart felt as if it was made of led and the only thought surfacing in her mind was that of death.

"But I didn't even get to say goodbye," she said to herself in the absolute silence.

Goodbye to her family? Goodbye to Temari? Goodbye to Naruto? Goodbye to Gaara? She wasn't sure. A piercing roar almost deafened her. Her mind became clear and her eyes soon found that this wasn't just a dark void but actually what seemed to be a moon less night. She sighed in relief at first before realizing that she was on top of a cliff, and at the very EDGE! Hinata jumped up and backpedaled before turning and looking around to make sure she didn't fall off anything.

A cool breeze blew by and made Hinata shiver but also brought a warm feeling. She wasn't dead. At least not yet. Slowly her legs moved faster, and faster until she was running in the blackness.

Suddenly the ground beneath Hinata's feet began to shake and she stopped. Getting onto her knees and pressed her ear against the ground to hear for tracks, a thing all basic ninja knew. Strangely she didn't hear anymore of the loud thuds. Slowly she sat up and leaned back on her legs before looking up. Ferocious blood shot green eyes glared at her, and the smell of death filled Hinata's nose. She then felt something acidic drip onto her jacket and burned a hole in her sleeve. She then did the only thing she could think of. She ran. And just as she hoped it wouldn't give chase she felt it's heavy lumbering steps behind her, gaining momentum. Tears pricked at her eyes as she realized the beast was only playing with her it could catch up any time it wanted. She closed her eyes and prayed she could wake from this nightmare when her stomach dropped, and she realized with a numb feeling that this was the edge, the end of the line, and that she Hinata Hyuuga a female who had danced around death to many times to count had finally met her end.

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Chiyo had been a village elder for many many years; she had also witnessed many different things. Kazekage's breaking down, murder, and even the destruction of her grandson, but never had she ever felt such compassion for one person. She stood outside of Hinata Hyuuga's hospital room and watched as the young girl's heart monitor rose and fell. Just at that moment the present Kazekage walked toward the hospital room, bowed to Chiyo and entered, soon pulling up a chair and just sitting there staring at the pale frail girl. Yes Chiyo felt very bad for the young woman, for the demon of the sand had fallen in love with her and now that he had her would surely never let her go.

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Tsunade and her team traveled at break neck speeds only stopping every once in a while to pop in a soldier pill and then continue. And unlike every other time no one complained, or even said a word. As dawn was breaking they crossed the border, and traveled a few more miles in, Suna in view, before Tsunade stopped them.

"Alright tome to reveal your mission," Tsunade said. "Sakura, Neji and Kakashi you three will scout the perimeter and look for any anbu of our village."

"You mean this has nothing to do with Hinata-sama?" Neji interjected.

"Actually no," Tsunade said, ignoring all the glares she got. "I got a letter from Suna telling me that all of our anbu have been murdered, if that's the case then Hinata is already gone.

"Why bring six of us then?" Shino asked, an icy tone lacing his words.

"So we could take shifts." Tsunade said simply.

"You bitch!" Neji snapped suddenly, making all the protests die on the protesters tongues. "You tricked me and the main family!"

"NEJI HYUUGA YOU WILL NEVER SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Tsunade shouted.

"LIKE HELL!" Neji screamed back. "I am here for Hinata-sama and Hinata-sama only, if you would like to search for your precious anbu you can do so yourself."

And with that Neji Hyuuga began to walk towards Suna preparing himself to kill the Kazekage then the Akatsuki. Kurenai who had stayed quietly suddenly looked up and fixed her eyes on the retreating boys back.

"Wait Neji!" Kurenai cried.

"Glad someone hasn't shirked her responsibilities," Tsunade muttered.

"I'm coming to!" Kurenai called disproving the Hokage.

"Hai me to sensei," Shino said quietly, but his voice echoed with such malice towards the Hokage said woman flinched.

Kakashi and Sakura watched in stunned silence as the other three members of their team high tailed it to Suna. Tsunade was fuming in a corner. How dare they disobey her, she was the Hokage! Sakura saw her sensei's anger and immediately tried to calm her down.

"It's all right Tsunade-sama, they'll come to their senses and come back soon," Sakura said. "Besides it's just like having Naruto here." She added as a side note.

Tsunade smiled to herself and nodded, hearing her student's last comment.

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Gaara enjoyed his alone time with Hinata. No one ever bothered him and it was a way to see her instead of just thinking about her. He gently grasped her hand trying to force his own demonic strength into her. Sometimes, when no one was around, he talked to her. And even one time, a night when he was feeling very VERY lonely he sang to her. Today he was in the mood for talking.

"Hyuuga-san, it's lovely day outside," Gaara began. "Not to much wind and the sun is behind a few clouds, I think that it would help you avoid being…what was it again? Oh yes sunburned."

And the Kazekage continued to talk to his friend even in her unconscious state. Little did the young man know but two people were watching him. When Kankurou had glanced up to Temari he had seen that she had almost looked about ready to cry.

"What do we do about Gaara's suspension?" Kankurou asked.

"I don't know," Temari said, her eyes turning steely at the mention of their brothers probation.

_Flashback_

"_YOU CAN'T UNMAKE HIM KAZEKAGE!" Temari shouted as the elders threatened her._

"_Well what can we do? He's being reckless! He ran off without permission and endangered the whole village!" one elder spoke up earning a threatening glare from Kankurou._

"_I agree!" another elder piped in._

"_Demo, Konoha is our strongest ally, if we lost the heir to their strongest clan I don't think that treaty would stand very long." Another pointed out._

"_Yes but the Akatsuki are dangerous! What if he led them back here?"_

_And the debate continued, loud and long. After another fifteen minutes of the same argument over and over Temari was about to interject when someone else did for her._

"_That's enough!" Chiyo shouted. "Gaara will not be demoted."_

_There was a bitter silence in the room, the only two not down trodden being Temari and Kankurou._

"_However we can't let his misdeed go unpunished at this Temari's heart sank. "Instead he will be put on probation and unable to leave the tower for a month."_

_There were murmurs around the room as the punishment was decided. Temari stood and followed Kankurou out the door. Both siblings went to Gaara's office and knocked on the door._

"_Enter," the Kazekage boomed._

"_Gaara?" Temari asked unsure of what type of reaction they would get. _

"_Yes Temari?" He asked boredly returning to his paperwork._

"_We just came back from the elders meeting," she mentioned still cautious. _

"_I see and what did they have to say?" Gaara asked sternly._

"_You're on probation," Kankurou blurted, catching Gaara's attention immediately._

"_Demo only for a month!" Temari quickly added._

"_What does this mean?" Gaara asked quietly._

"_Basically it means you get a vacation," Kankurou said, trying to sound positive. "No paperwork no meetings, nothing. The only problem is you can't leave the tower."_

"_Is the medical ward part of the tower?" Gaara asked._

"_I'm sure," Temari, replied thoughtful_

"_I think I will enjoy this 'probation'," Gaara said before standing and leaving his office, his siblings staring after him. _

_End Flashback_

"Gaara seems to be enjoying himself though,' Temari whispered to her brother.

"We should go before he sees us," Kankurou added.

"Yeah," Temari agreed and they backed out of the room.

"Temari has cried herself to sleep every night since you came back," Gaara continued. "Don't tell her I told you, even Kankurou has been losing sleep and he's less perverted then usual."

He was about to continue when the door banged open. Gaara released Hinata's hand and stood.

"What is it?" he asked the rude Jounin.

"People from Konoha have arrived to search for the anbu, should we inform them of the Hyuuga?" the Jounin asked glancing towards Hinata.

Gaara also turned and looked at her. A brief second later he turned back to his Jounin.

"No, do not." Gaara said.

The Jounin nodded and disappeared. As soon as he was gone Gaara sat back down.

"You're probably wondering why I don't want them to know," Gaara said, looking at the girl's troubled face once more. "I know that when they do find you here they're going to take you back, I just want to say goodbye."

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Neji followed the Jounin as he led him near an inn were he could book rooms for the time being. Even without his Byakugan he could tell that there was something bothering him. The way he walked, the way he talked, all of it screamed secret.

'Is it something about Hinata-sama?' Neji asked himself, as he continued to follow.

He didn't know yet but his other two companions also noticed. Kurenai because she was a Jounin herself and Shino from his many years of studying body language. When they reached the inn all three ninjas agreed on one thing, they would find out the secret.

"Would you mind helping me with my stuff?" Kurenai asked seductively.

The Jounin gulped and nodded. Shino smirked and Neji scoffed, what a newbie! They walked silently upstairs and finally reached their rooms. Kurenai pulled open the door to her room and shoved the young man roughly inside before slamming the door, not noticing Shino and Neji slipping in before the door closed. The young Jounin coward before the woman as she began the hand signs for a Genjutsu, said female Jounin not noticing the other two.

"What so you know?" Neji asked, when he realized the jutsu was done.

Kurenai jumped and bumped into her pupil who gave her a soft push. The Jounin remained silent, as he seemed to debate with himself.

"TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW SCUM BAG!" Neji screamed, his Byakugan activating, but the Jounin smirked.

"You think I'm afraid of a little yelling?" he asked, laughing.

Neji was about to strike the man when Shino held him back and approached the man.

"You will tell us all you know or else," Shino said menacingly.

"Or else what?" the Jounin challenged.

"I am Shino Aburame," Shino began, noticing the mans eyes widen a fraction. "I have cannibalistic bugs living inside me that do what ever I want. The swarm I have inside me right now is enough to pick your bones clean in a very slow and painful way, need I say more?"

The Jounin shook his head as his body trembled on the bed. Neji glanced over and smirked at the young Aburame, he needed to be sure to make Hinata closer to him.

"I will not ask again," Shino said, sending one of his more harmless bugs out to hover over the mans face.

"I-I-I'll do what ever you say just get that away from me!" The man choked out.

"What are you hiding?" Kurenai probed.

"We have the other Hyuuga, she's in the hospital and she's alive!" he squeaked as Shino's bug flew only a breath away from his eye.

"WHERES THE DAMN HOSPITAL!" Neji cried growing impatient.

"Kazekage tower!" the Jounin gasped.

Neji flew out the door, Kurenai hot on his tail while Shino released the man from the Genjutsu.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said, nodding.

The bug then landed on the mans face and he passed out from fear. Shino chuckled a bit before calling his bug back and sprinting towards the tower.

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After a few minutes of falling Hinata felt the sudden reality of the situation, there was no bottom. No bottom for her to hit, she had already hit rock bottom. Unfortunately she was wrong, because she found the bottom with the sickening sound of her rib cracking as she landed on her side. When she opened her eyes again she realized she was in a dimly lit passage. Not knowing what else to do she climbed painfully to her feet and began to walk. It felt as if she had been walking for hours when she finally passed a door. Slowly she pushed it open and gasped at what she saw inside.

A baby animal seemed to be lying bloodied on the floor. Hinata's compassionate nature kicked in and she ran into the room. Using what little medical jutsu she knew she began to heal the animal. The type of animal and its wounds were unknown to Hinata in yet she kept healing even though it could already be dead. She didn't know when the tears started or when the animal began to move but she wouldn't let up on the healing until it turned and faced her. It's sharp blue blood shot eyes shocked Hinata into standing up, and slowly it grew.

Finally when it was done growing it was a huge wolf like creature. Hinata was only able to squeak in surprise, as it seemed to appraise her. It stepped forward and she stepped back. Pushing it's nose out it tried to sniff her, Hinata tripped over her own feet and landed had onto the cold stone floor.

"Were you the one to heal me child?" it purred.

Hinata would have passed out if she weren't afraid of being eaten. Instead she just nodded. The wolf seemed to contemplate on this for a moment before fixing it's eyes on her again.

"Alright, what do you desire child?" it asked in it's smooth voice.

Hinata remained silent, just noticing the cat like grace it held, with wolf pride. The creature stomped it's foot impatiently.

"What do you wish for child!?" it hissed.

"I-I-I want to g-go home," she stuttered out fearfully.

"Is that all?" the creature asked disbelievingly. "Humph I thought you would make it interesting, oh well."

"G-Gomen if I displeased you," Hinata whispered not remembering the huge ears atop its head.

"I don't care what you wish for!" the creature chuckled. "If you want to go home fine, all you have to do is wake up."

"Wake up?" Hinata asked.

"Seems I'll have to help with that to, humans are so useless!" and with that flames engulfed Hinata and started to burn her skin.

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Gaara was about to leave and go speak with the Konoha representative when Hinata's heart monitor began to quicken. He turned and was about to hit the call button when it regulated again. For a moment he stood confused, before the heart monitor went haywire again. Hitting the emergency button he made his way back over to Hinata's side. The door suddenly burst open, but instead of nurses in came three Konoha ninja's. One Hinata's cousin, another her teammate, and the last he believed was her sensei.

They stared at each other for a few moments before a loud beep filled the room. All eyes were suddenly drawn to the monitor. A long flat line filled the screen.

"Hinata," Shino said even more quietly.

Kurenai fell to her knees and cried while Neji clenched his fists, Gaara was the only one who hadn't given up hope. He leaned forward and began to whisper something in her ear. All was silent, the beep not even reaching their ears. Suddenly there was a change, a hitch in the constant monotone. Immediately Neji looked up and the heart monitor was regulated, he was ready to cry with joy when he noticed something else. Hinata sat up in the bed, Gaara helping her with some pillows. She glanced over in his direction and smiled, her warm and long lost smile.

"It's good to see you Neji-ni-san," she said softly.

"Hinata-sama," was his choked reply as a single tear fell down his pale face.

**A/N: YAY REUNION! Okay well anyway Happy thanksgiving to everyone! And I would be very THANKFUL for some reviews!**


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Ha you're funny….

Chapter: 22

Deep in a forest surrounding grass country sat the Akatsuki secret hideout, sleek and sly in its outward appearance. Perfect for an evil organization of super strength rogue ninja's, no one would ever suspect it.

Until now…

"YOU WHAT!?!" a loud scream shook the trees and a flock of birds took flight.

So much for secret. Deidara stood with his head bowed trying to hold back a nervous chuckle. Kisame stood next to him wincing as the only female member of the Akatsuki paced in front of them while destroying everything in her path. Pein stood behind her mentally smacking himself for not going to catch the Hyuuga himself. He was broken from his mental punishment by another shriek from Konan.

"YOU LEFT HER THERE TO BLEED TO DEATH!?" Konan screamed throwing her fist at the wall behind Deidara's head.

"S-she stabbed herself with a kunai, she would have bled to death," Kisame defended.

"Yes, IF she was a normal person!" Konan snapped.

"I thought you said the only special thing about her was the Byakugan un," Deidara said.

Pein almost yelled at his subordinate, as the answer was so obvious it wasn't even funny. He glanced over at Konan, waiting for her mental overload. In 3…2…1…

"WHAT ARE YOU A MORON!" Konan screamed. "SHE HAS THE DEMON INSIDE HER! THE DEMON WOULD REFUSE TO DIE SO EASILY!"

Deidara and Kisame had an 'oh' look on their faces that was soon replaced with a grimace.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Konan cried.

"Looks like it's that time of the month un," Deidara mumbled as he and Kisame scrambled out of the room.

"I HEARD THAT!" Konan yelled after them.

"You should calm down," Pein's cold voice echoed in the empty chamber.

"I know, but how could they be so stupid? What were you thinking?" Konan asked.

"I don't know but it may have helped us," Pein said in his monotone.

"How?" Konan asked incredulously. "They screwed up so bad I would be surprised if we ever saw the Hyuuga again."

"Don't worry I have a plan," Pein simply said.

Konan smirked as she watched the shadow of a man exit the chamber to. By the sounds of it they were about to finally catch their fox; all they needed now was the bait. **(A/N: If you can't tell they are talking about using Hinata for bait for Naruto)**

"Ni-san please don't cry!" Hinata said her own voice shaky.

Without a second thought she climbed out of the hospital bed and knelt before her cousin who had fallen to his own knees. Neji looked up at her and his relieved expression changed to stern worry.

"Get back in bed," Neji stated.

"Demo," Hinata began.

"Back. In. Bed." Neji said standing and pulling Hinata to her feet.

"Demo I feel great! I can probably run a lap around Suna!" Hinata whined, getting into bed at the same time.

"At least stay still until the doctor checks you out," Kurenai piped in, making herself known.

Hinata looked over to her sensei and smiled not failing to notice Shino in the corner. Gaara regarded all of them with a bored acknowledgement. But on the inside his heart clenched, he hadn't seen her this happy in a long time and he wondered if she wanted to go back to Konoha. A quiet statement made by Shino broke his thoughts.

"What?" He asked bluntly.

"Tsunade-sama's here?" Hinata asked, unconsciously answering Gaara's question. "Why?"

"She heard that her precious Anbu had been killed," Neji scoffed.

Gaara was the only one to notice Hinata's eyes widen, shine with unshed tears and then turn dull. Her skin went from it's usual pale to ashy and her head fell to her chest which drew the others attention.

"Hinata-chan, are you all right?" Kurenai asked.

"Hai!" Hinata answered happily, looking up at her sensei with a wide grin on her face though her eyes stayed dead. "Would any of you mind getting the doctor for me?"

"Of course," Kurenai said, motioning for Shino to follow her. "Gaara-sama would you mind introducing me to Hinata-chan's doctor, I have a few questions."

Gaara nodded and gave Hinata's shoulder a small squeeze before leading the way out of the room. For a moment Hinata and Neji sat in silence neither one staring at the other.

"Why?" Hinata's voice was the only thing that broke the silence.

"Why what?" Neji asked his cousin, recognizing the sorrow in her tone immediately.

"Why did they sacrifice themselves for me?" Hinata said tears leaking from her pale eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked, thoroughly confused.

"How many Anbu were sent after me?" Hinata asked immediately as if switching topic.

"About five or six why?" Neji asked.

"It's my fault their dead," Hinata said.

"No it's not," Neji said. "You couldn't save them, the Akatsuki was fighting them and there is more of them then you."

"I could have at least TRIED." Hinata sobbed.

"Don't feel bad, they risked their life because you are important and we all care about you," Neji consoled.

"I'M NOT WORTH THEIR LIVES!" Hinata screamed. "I'm a worthless Kunoichi, they were anbu. Top of their class and the strongest ninjas we have to offer and they died for me."

"Stop!" Neji cried, halting Hinata's tears. "They were going to give up on you! Leave you out there to die! But I refused! And so did those Anbu."

Neji was going to continue until he was cut off as Hinata pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for not forgetting me ni-san," Hinata murmured.

"Hinata! Lets go shopping!" Temari said slamming the hospital door open and accidentally ruining the cousin moment.

"Has the doctor allowed me to leave?" Hinata asked excitedly, she hadn't seen Temari in about two months.

Temari looked a little crestfallen and Hinata knew the answer was no. She opened her mouth to say something when she was cut off by a raspy voice.

"If you give me a minute Temari-san, I'll check her and then tell you if she can go or not." Chiyo said, from the door.

A few minutes later Chiyo finished checking Hinata and her wounds and told them the diagnosis.

"She suffered from massive internal bleeding, and we found a strange substance lining the walls of her esophagus. Death was almost inevitable; I have no idea, Hyuuga-san how you even survived."

With every word from the old woman's lips their hearts grew heavier and heavier. Finally Hinata lost all hope and instead looked out the window trying to hide the oncoming tears.

"However, it seems that your luck has not run out yet," Chiyo added after a short silence. "You may leave."

Both girls looked at each other before Hinata turned beaming at her doctor. She opened her mouth to express her gratitude but was cut off again.

"Demo, if you experience any thing strange, anything at all, come back to the hospital immediately…understood?" Chiyo asked.

"Hai!" Hinata squeaked, jumping out of the bed. "Arigotou Chiyo-sama, I owe you my life."

"Oh come now Hyuuga-san, I do not enjoy such manners, go up to your room, the Kazekage and your companions will be waiting there, they'll be glad to know you are okay." Chiyo said, before turning and leaving.

Hinata began to pull her sandals on clumsily, anxious to actually walk around with friends. Neji told her to slow down and made her blush, but she continued her frantic struggle to leave the room.

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Kakashi returned to the meeting spot within an hour, he was surprised however when he saw Sakura and Tsunade already there. Tsunade stood her arms crossed and a fierce glint in her eye; though her skin was unnaturally pale. Sakura sat on the ground in the fetal position, hands on her head and her body rocking back and forth.

"Tsunade-sama, what happened to Sakura-chan?" he asked deciding to get the answers from the more stable female.

"We found the anbu bodies, or Sakura found them," Tsunade said.

Kakashi nodded in understanding before pulling out the remains of one of the Anbu masks he found. Tsunade took it from him and inspected it before snapping it in half.

"Lets head to Suna, Neji, Shino and Kurenai probably have come to their senses. Besides I have to renew our peace treaty." Tsunade added pulling the shaking Sakura to her feet.

The two adults began to walk toward the city of sand. However Kakashi soon noticed that Sakura wasn't following them. He turned back and lifted her onto his back and brought her to a waiting Tsunade.

"She's still stunned from what she saw," Kakashi explained, earning a snort from Tsunade.

The fifth Hokage ordered him to lay Sakura on the ground. The Jounin had no choice to obey. Tsunade stood over the pink haired Kunoichi before unscrewing the cap to her canteen and dumping the contents onto the young girls face. After a few moments Tsunade finally got the reaction she wanted and heard coughing and spluttering that soon turned in to a choked scream. She tipped the bottle back up and covered it with the cap once again as Sakura jumped to her feet.

"What was that!?" Sakura cried as she spat the liquid onto the ground.

"Sake," Tsunade said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kakashi mumbled to himself.

Before either of the two females could begin arguing Kakashi cut them off.

"We need to get to Suna," Kakashi said already heading in that direction.

And without another word they all sped off toward the village.

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"Gaara-sama!" Hinata cried, running into her room and almost hugging the Kazekage.

However she stopped and her arms dropped to her sides as her face turned a bright cherry red. Temari began to laugh and Neji smirked, Gaara on the other looked confused. Kurenai looked at the bolder Hinata and almost smiled, Shino on the other hand ignored everyone else and walked toward his teammate.

"Shino-kun!" Hinata cried wrapping her arms around her teammate, who gently squeezed her back.

Gaara felt a swell of anger but it soon died when Hinata faced him again, a huge smile on her face.

"Gaara-sama we were going to go shopping would you like to come?" Hinata asked, not able to hide her hopeful tone.

The Kazekage stared at her for a moment, before nodding. This time Hinata couldn't stop herself as she hugged him. After she realized what she had done she immediately released the red head and blushed.

"Shall we go then?" Kankurou asked from the doorway.

"Are you coming to?" Temari asked, a fake look of disgust on her face.

"Yeah I figured I might as well." Kankurou grumbled.

"That's great! Lets go," Hinata said reaching behind her and grasping Neji's hand and what she thought was Shino's coat sleeve.

Gaara was a little shocked when he felt the slight tug on his shirt, his eyes glanced downwards noticing Hinata's small fingers curled around the sleeve of his shirt. With that they were off through the Kazekage tower. As the neared the door, the three sand siblings noticed the elders standing at the entrance. Temari paled, while Kankurou grimaced. Gaara on the other hand detangled himself from Hinata and approached them.

"I must leave the tower," Gaara stated.

"But you're on probation!" the elder snapped.

"The Hokage's here, do you really wish for her to know that I was put on probation for rescuing the Hyuuga heiress? That might be considered treason." Gaara said coldly.

The elder who had spoken earlier flushed in anger but was at a loss for words. All the others were silent until finally one spoke up.

"Well go then!"

Gaara did just that; he walked back toward the group and began leading them outside. However what they didn't notice was a pink haired Konoha ninja about to enter the building.

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Sakura sighed as she wondered through Suna by herself. Kakashi went off in search of an Adult bookshop while Tsunade stopped at a bar to refill her Sake supply. So now it was up to Sakura to meet with the Kazekage about renewing the peace treaty. In all honesty she really wanted to see Gaara but she would never admit it. Her hand went to the door and she closed her eyes for the moment, but the next thing she knew she was on the ground and staring up into two glaring blue green eyes.

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When Temari saw the pink haired girl approaching she immediately notified Neji and the rest of the group.

"Hinata look over there!" Temari said, pointing behind the dark haired girl.

"Where?" Hinata asked, turning around and searching behind her.

"Pinkie is here!" Temari mouthed.

Everyone understood immediately, and tried to distract Hinata for as long as possible.

"Gaara! Kankurou!" Temari hissed, signaling her two brothers.

"What?" Kankurou whined.

"That pink haired girl, Sakura, she's coming!" Temari whispered, noticing Gaara catch on.

"So? What do I care about a pink haired hus…" Kankurou began but was shushed by both of his aggravated siblings.

"Will you keep it down?" Gaara growled.

"I don't want Hinata to see her again," Temari said nervously as she saw a hint of impatience in Hinata's face as Kurenai questioned her about a portrait of a past Kazekage. "She might lose it again."

There was silence between the three siblings, all looking torn. Finally Temari was about to speak when Gaara turned away from them. He began to walk towards the door.

"Gaara! What are you…" Temari began.

"Take Hinata and leave. I'll keep the pink one distracted." He said.

"Arigotou Gaara," Temari whispered before rushing Hinata up the stairs and out a window.

"Tell me why we are sneaking out the window? And where did Gaara-sama go?" Hinata asked.

"We want you to get you exorcise," Shino covered.

"Gaara had to go to a meeting," Temari added.

"Ok," she said slightly crestfallen.

"Maybe we'll see him later." Kankurou added quickly.

Hinata brightened a bit as they made their first stop.

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"Where is the fifth Hokage?" Gaara asked the pinkette who was still on the ground.

"I um I," Sakura stuttered, afraid of giving a bad impression

Gaara rolled his eyes and pulled Sakura to her feet. He walked past her, and onto the street.

"Are you coming?" He asked, looking back at her.

"H-hai," Sakura said running to catch up with him.

Silence reigned between the two. Sakura seemed uncomfortable and decided to break the silence.

"So Kazekage-sama…" She began but was cut off by Gaara.

"I found Hinata, she's alive." Gaara replied.

"What?" Sakura asked, her heart sinking a bit.

"Hinata's alive and I found her," he said as if he was talking to and idiot.

"Oh," was all that Sakura could choke out.

Again silence fell between the two. Sakura soon decided that the silence was to awkward again.

"That reminds me," Sakura said suddenly.

Gaara looked over at her an eyebrow raised.

"Hinata's birthday is on the 27th." Sakura said almost absent-mindedly.

He made a mental note, counting down the days. The only problem now was what to get her.

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"I'm hungry," Kankurou whined.

"Shut up!" Temari hissed smacking her brother over the head.

"No it's okay I think I could go for a bite to eat," Hinata said.

"Me too," Kurenai agreed.

"I wouldn't mind that to much either," Neji commented, taking his cousins arm and bringing her to the nearest restaurant.

Soon all six ninja filled in a booth and ordered their food. Everyone was chatting idly for a while when finally Hinata's stomach growled.

"Where is our food?" Temari cut in.

"I don't know but it sure is taking an awfully long time." Kurenai concurred.

"I'll go see what's going on," Hinata said about to slide out of her spot.

"Oh don't worry Hinata-sama, I'll get it," Neji said already half way to the counter.

"**You need to be careful young one."** A deep voice rumbled in Hinata's head.

'_Who are you?'_ Hinata said in her head, a little uncomfortable with talking to the unknown visitor in her mind.

"**Never mind that, there is a traitor close to you."** It continued.

'_Traitor?'_ Hinata asked confused.

"**Someone is poisoning you kit." **

'_Poison?'_

"**Yes poison, I have a feeling it is your cousin."**

'_Neji! No it couldn't be! I don't believe you'_

"**You don't have to but I have to make sure no poison infects us."**

'_Us!'_

"**Yes us, you may not know it yet but you and I are one now and I will take care of us."**

Finally Hinata recognized the voice as the fox like creature that she found in the strange world. Neji soon returned with the food, and passed Hinata hers first. But strangely she had suddenly lost her appetite.

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"Awww! How cute!" Sakura squealed as she squatted in front of a pet shop window where there was a small litter of kittens playing.

"Do all females like these creatures?" Gaara asked.

"Of course!" Sakura insisted. "They're just so cute and fluffy!"

"What about those?" Gaara asked pointing to a small brown dog running around his cage with his brother and sisters.

"Ewe dogs! No way! They are to Hyperactive and annoying!" Sakura said, making a face. "Trust me the way to any girls heart is a soft cuddly kitten."

"Hn," Gaara stated as he began to walk away.

Sakura ran after Gaara once again, but bumped into him once he stopped. He pointed inside and Sakura caught a glimpse of her sensei trying to get more sake. She sighed.

"I should go and help my sensei," Sakura said trying to pardon herself from the Kazekage. "I really enjoy spending time with you…maybe we can do it again."

She turned to see the Kazekage's reaction only to find he was gone.

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The sun began to set on the sand city, and all six ninja were exhausted.

"I think we should get back now," Temari said as she walked ahead with Kurenai and Hinata while the guys lagged carrying all their purchases.

"Yes, Hinata you need to get to bed early," Kurenai said.

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"Because you're coming home with us of course!" Kurenai answered.

"No I'm not." Hinata said stopping.

"Oh thank God!" Kankurou sighed in relief as he was finally able to put the bags down

"Hinata-sama, what do you mean?" Neji asked dangerously.

"I'm not going home with you." Hinata said sternly.

"Oh yes you are." Neji said.

"No I'm not! You cannot tell me what to do!" Hinata said.

"Don't make me force you," Neji threatened in a cold voice.

Hinata slid into the Hyuuga fighting stance and stood in front of Neji. Everyone else looked at her in shock.

"Hinata! What are you doing?" Kurenai gasped.

"I am happy here!" Hinata snapped. "And if I have to fight you in order for me to stay so be it."

"So you really want to stay here?" Neji asked disbelievingly.

"Yes," Hinata said fiercely.

The two cousins had a staring match but neither one yielded. Neji's eyes softened and he sighed.

"Alright." He said.

"What?" Hinata asked completely shocked.

"Alright you can stay." Neji repeated.

"Really!? Thank you Ni-san!" Hinata was about to hug her cousin when he stopped her.

"Don't thank me just yet. You still have to convince Tsunade-sama." Neji said.

"Still it means a lot." Hinata said.

Kurenai frowned and opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by her student.

"We should be getting back," Shino said.

"Hai." They all agreed and headed back toward the Kazekage tower.

However what they didn't see was the Kazekage leaving the place where they just were a small smile on his face.

**A/N: Read and review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Sorry I didn't update sooner but I have had finals and now that they are over I'm free! At least for a little while…**

**Disclaimer: TT **

**Chapter 23 **

"GAARA!" Temari yelled as she ran into his office giggling as Hinata skidded behind her also smiling.

"What?" the Kazekage asked his eyes flicking toward them before going back to his paperwork.

"Um I was wondering," Temari began, as Hinata's smile immediately fell from her face.

"Yes?" Gaara asked.

"Can we go on a vacation?" Temari tried.

Hinata looked away and down at the floor while Gaara slowly looked up, giving Temari a quizzical look.

"We just were wondering if we could go on a vacation to snow country," Temari continued.

"Okay," Gaara said, going back to his paper work.

"Really!" Temari cried excitedly, shaking Hinata's shoulder until the Hyuuga was smiling to.

"Yes you and Kankurou go right on ahead." Gaara said absentmindedly.

Hinata's smile faded and she turned away from the two siblings before disappearing down the hall. Temari glanced back behind her before turning back to her younger brother.

"Gaara that's not what I meant," Temari said.

"Then what did you mean?" Gaara asked, not paying actual attention.

"Well I wanted Hinata to come to," Temari continued.

"No," Gaara said automatically.

"Demo…why?" Temari asked a little desperate.

"I can't risk her again, if you were to go on a vacation I wouldn't be able to protect her." Gaara said simply placing his completed paperwork in a pile.

"Me and Kankurou can protect her. She's homesick and at this time of year there is snow in Konoha. It would really mean a lot to her and besides we wanted you to come to!" Temari begged.

"No, I'm sorry Temari my answer is no and there will be no more discussion about it." Gaara said, tuning out the last part if her statement.

Temari glared at her brother before storming out of Gaara's office. She accidentally ran into Kankurou who shivered as she wished a thousand deaths upon him.

"What crawled up you ass and died?" Kankurou asked.

"We can't go to snow country," Temari huffed.

"Why?" Kankurou asked, again.

"Because Gaara's a hard ass," Temari spat.

"We can't go to snow country, so what?" Kankurou said draping his arm across his sister's shoulders and leading her toward the stairs. "We can still get ready for Christmas and Hinata's birthday here."

"I guess your right," Temari grumbled as the two siblings went around shopping.

For the rest of the week tensions ran high, Temari being hostile towards Gaara who was hostile towards Kankurou who was hostile to Hinata who was just plain confused. But the four roamed Suna avoiding and ignoring each other. In the middle of the night on the last day of the week Hinata found that she couldn't sleep, not for lack of trying but because of a loud nuisance now living in her head.

'_Hina-chan,'_ it rumbled.

"What is it, Neko-San?" Hinata mumbled stifling a yawn and rolling over in the bed.

'_Are you sleepy?'_ it teased, its sly voice making Hinata shiver.

"You know that I am and I would be asleep already…if only you would leave me be," Hinata replied a little irritated.

'_Come now, you wouldn't be getting testy would you? I only wanted you to keep me company, it gets so lonely at night.'_ The voice whined, pitifully.

Hinata sighed and sat up. Living with a demon inside of her hadn't really changed anything at all the only different thing was there would be the restless moments like this and the only way to soothe the savage beast was with a nice long walk and the white light of the glowing moon. As quietly as she could Hinata snuck out of her room and was soon standing outside the tower pulling on a heavy coat to keep the chill of the desert away. Her feet moved slowly at first but picked up speed. The sooner the walk was over the sooner she could finally rest her eyes and sleep.

'_Do you know my true motives?'_ the demon questioned.

"No!" Hinata said, her pale arms crossing in front of herself to brace the rest of her body. "I only thought this was a simple walk and that afterward I would be rid of you for the night."

'_You will have to go back soon,'_ it said, taking on a gentler, more sincere tone.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

'_Konoha is your home isn't it?'_ the demon asked. _'If I am not mistaken you will be going back there soon.'_

"Yes I suppose so, but I miss Konoha, so there will be no problem," Hinata said firmly, reassuring herself more then the demon.

'_But you will also miss this place,'_ the demon said sagely.

Hinata stopped in her tracks and lifted her head to the sky eyes closed and her arms spread wide like an eagles wings.

"Of course," She whispered her voice catching on a slight breeze that blew by.

'_You will miss the Shukaku boy more then anything, yes?'_ the voice asked, sadly.

"Yes I will miss Gaara- san," Hinata said, beginning to walk again. "But I was only supposed to be here for training and besides me and Gaara aren't that close."

'_You lie'_ the demon chuckled.

"Do not!" Hinata insisted.

'_You do and you know as well as I that you will miss the boy.'_ The voice said irritably.

"I never denied THAT," Hinata said only slightly defensive, her mind on other things.

'_He upset you today,'_ the voice commented. _'Why?'_

"Because he didn't want to go on a vacation with us," Hinata sighed, turning back to the tower.

'_Why does that bother you so?'_ the voice asked puzzled.

"Gaara-sama has never seen snow before, and as you know I will be leaving in about another month or so." Hinata said sadly. "I just thought we could share his first experience with snow as a good bye gift."

Loud rumbling laughter soon filled Hinata's head. She tried to ignore it by looking ahead at the tower but soon the sound grew to the point where Hinata couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's so funny?" Hinata finally asked.

'_Nothing, nothing.'_ The demon reassured. _'However I am still not satisfied, sit on the roof of the tower and talk to me about your family and friends back in Konoha.'_

"But!" Hinata opened her mouth to complain, only to shut it again knowing she wouldn't win. "Fine but only for a little while, I'm so tired I think I'll pass out."



Gaara sat in his office staring at the picture of him, Matsuri and Hinata in the tree. His mind was almost utterly blank.

'_Someone is in our spot.'_ Shukaku interjected through Gaara's bliss.

"What are you talking about?" Gaara asked standing from his desk and pushing his chair in.

'_Someone is in our spot on the roof,'_ Shukaku repeated.

"Who?" Gaara asked curiously, his eyes drawn to the clock on his wall which red one a.m.

'_I don't know,'_ Shukaku lied.

"You're a bad liar," Gaara murmured, as he exited his office and walked down the deserted hall.

'_So are you.' _Shukaku countered. _'You have feelings for the Hyuuga_.'

"No I do not," Gaara insisted.

'_See? Bad liar,'_ Shukaku teased.

"My feelings for Hinata-san are strictly friendly and professional." Gaara defended.

'_Yes chasing her around the country and more is only friendly and professional,'_ Shukaku said sarcastically. _'I may be old and a demon but I have seen tougher men fall for a pretty face.'_

"Oh shut up will you?" Gaara snapped.

'_Fine fine, I just think you should check it out.'_ Shukaku said.

"If it will shut you up." Gaara grumbled making his way to the roof.

When he reached his spot he was surprised to see Hinata sitting there her head propped on her arms, which were crossed over her knees. She still hadn't seen him so he decided to wait and watch.

'_So tell me more about your teammates,'_ a mysterious voice echoed inside his head, surprising Gaara.

"Well, there's Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, Akamaru-kun, and my sensei Kurenai." Hinata said out loud into the frostbitten air.

'_Four teammates? The leaf must be in desperate need of Shinobi.'_ The voice commented.

"Oh no, not at all. I only really have three teammates, but Akamaru-kun is Kiba-kun's partner." Hinata said.

'_So this dog has served you well?'_ the voice asked.

"Quite," Hinata said. "Wait, when did I tell you Akamaru was a dog?"

'_Lets just call it a good guess.' _The voice answered, amused.

"Um okay." Hinata said. "I am the heiress to the Hyuuga clan."

'_Naturally,'_ the voice answered.

"My mother died when I was five while giving birth to my younger sister Hanabi." Hinata said forlornly.

'_Do you hate your younger sister for taking your mother?'_ the voice asked.

Hinata paused, and the only sound heard was the chirping of bugs in the distance. Gaara's eyes widened, he had never imagined Hinata hating anyone, and if she was able to hate her own sibling who had done nothing to harm her he wondered what she really thought of him.

'_Did you think that there are people who do not hate?'_ Shukaku asked Gaara. _'If so then you are more stupid then I originally thought, there is no such thing as pure love, there is always hate.'_

"NO! I don't hate Hanabi!" Hinata cried standing and holding her head. "I have taken care of her like she was my own daughter and I have always loved her. I hate no one, not my father, not my cousin not my sister, no one!"

'_Calm down, sit back and take deep breaths.'_ The other voice interjected and soothed Hinata's foul temper.

"I'm sorry," Hinata apologized sitting back down.

'_It's ok now tell mw about this other boy Naruto,'_ the voice asked, turning Hinata's cheeks a slight pink.

Gaara began to climb back down into the tower; he didn't want to hear about Naruto or how much she loved him. However he was stopped when he heard the other voice begin talking again.

'_You know you do not love him.'_ The voice said.

Slowly and carefully got back into a position where he could here Hinata again. The pale girl was rocking back and forth with a stunned expression on her face.

"T-that's not true," she stuttered out. "I've liked Naruto for as long as I can remember."

'_It is apparent that I have much to teach you.'_ The voice chuckled. _'Male animals, especially foxes like to secure a mate. So they….'_ But Hinata cut off the voice.

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Hinata cried her face burning bright red. "What is the point?"

'_Well my point is that the nine tailed fox affected you with a hormone so you would be attracted to his vessel. I'm guessing he's targeting you because you have a bloodline trait.' _The voice said.

Gaara felt his stomach flip but he decided to ignore it and continue to watch. Hinata stared into the sky before opening her mouth.

"So you mean, this whole time I never really liked Naruto of my own free will?" Hinata asked.

'_Well even though the nine tailed fox gives off a massive amount of hormones nothing would be able to make you this infatuated with the boy so you at least had to have admired him before.'_ The voice helped.

"Oh," Hinata said, staying quiet.

'_Your feelings for HIM are all real,'_ the voice finally said.

Hinata seemed to brighten and she stood. She stretched her arms out and yawned before looking up at the moon.

'Don't worry you may rest now.' The voice said again.

"Well thank you," Hinata said about to walk toward Gaara's hiding place.

'Do you still wish to go on vacation with the Kazekage?' it asked, making her stop in her tracks.

"Of course," Hinata said, her face falling a little bit. "But if he doesn't want to then I won't complain."

As Hinata was distracted Gaara disappeared back into the tower before going to his room to think.



The next morning as the sun barely made it way up over the cliffs surrounding Suna, Temari was awakened by a maid rushing into her room.

"Please wake up Temari-san!" she squeaked pulling open draws and opening doors.

"What's going on?" Temari asked, groggily.

"You need to pack!" the maid continued, ignoring the blonde woman.

"Pack? For what?" Temari asked a little more alert.

"Hurry hurry hurry!" the maid continued shoving clothes and Temari's other possessions in the bags.

Temari rolled her eyes and jumped out of bed, hoping to find someone to explain what was going on. She walked down the halls in her dark purple pajamas until she came upon an equally confused Hinata.

"I don't suppose you know what's going," Temari said, receiving a no in return.

Temari looked at Hinata and found she was more disheveled then herself. Her hair hung in small knots around her pale and tired face. She wore long tan pajamas that went passed both her hands and feet, with the Hyuuga clan symbol sewed onto the hem of the shirt. In her arms she clutched a purple bird with white glassy eyes, and every other minute Hinata would yawn and then rub tears from her eyes. Temari giggled, and caught Hinata's attention.

"What?" Hinata said yawning.

"You just look so funny," Temari said giggling again but she was cut off by a loud shout.

Hinata and Temari looked at each other before both sprinting down the hall toward the cries. When they got there both girls stopped, Hinata's face turned bright cherry red and she covered her eyes. Temari only raised an eyebrow at the sight. There stood Kankurou banging on his door and screaming…in only his boxers.

"Kankurou what are you doing?" Temari asked, ceasing her brother's cries.

"I woke up this morning to a creepy maid staring at me and then she started screaming as if I walked in on her, then she kicked me out without giving me a chance to change." Kankurou said facing Temari. "What's up with Hinata?" He asked noticing the blushing girl covering her eyes and resting her head on the wall.

"Hmm well I don't know, maybe it's because she has fallen madly in love with you," Temari said sarcastically, earning a confused look from Kankurou and a squeak of protest from Hinata. "Or maybe it could be that she doesn't want to see all that." Temari said waving her hand at Kankurou.

He looked down and smiled, before slowly sneaking up to Hinata. Temari watched amused as he began to poke her. Hinata squeaked and tried to get away from Kankurou only succeeding in bumping into walls and boxing herself in. Temari watched for a few more minutes before yelling at Kankurou.

"Enough! We have to find Gaara, come on guys." Temari said leading the way, Kankurou following close behind and Hinata running into walls. "Hinata! Uncover your eyes!"

"No!" Hinata said shakily.

"Come on Hinata, I know I'm sexy but you don't have to be embarrassed. Other girls have looked." Kankurou said.

"I'm not interested in you or your body!" Hinata cried out her hands falling from her face and clenching at her sides.

She realized she was no longer protecting her purity so with a small eep she covered her eyes once again.

"You won't open your eyes?" Temari asked, and Hinata nodded. "You're sure?" Hinata nodded again. "Alright I have an idea, wait here!" and with that Temari was gone.

A few minutes she returned with what Hinata could only assume was clothing and tried to get Kankurou to wear it. He out right refused.

"Just put it on! Temari said.

"No!" Kankurou cried.

"I said put…it…on!" Temari said as she grabbed hold of Kankurou and tried to force him into the clothing.

"No! Hinata save me!" Kankurou whimpered as he dashed behind the blinded Hyuuga.

"Please Kankurou-san, get dressed," Hinata begged.

"But Hinata!" Kankurou whined.

"Um how about I'll give you a kiss if you do?" Hinata offered still hiding behind her hands.

"Deal," Kankurou answered immediately.

"Alright he has it on, Hinata you can open your eyes now." Temari said stifling a giggle.

Slowly Hinata removed her hands and came face to face with Kankurou wearing a large pink fuzzy bathrobe.

"Oh my…where did you get that?" Hinata said, trying to suppress her own giggles.

"Who cares, can we just go?" Temari whined.

"Yeah, lets go." Hinata said following her.

"Hey! What about my kiss Hinata?" Kankurou said, catching up to the Hyuuga.

"Oh right!" Hinata said, before reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a small chocolate kiss. "My cousin sent me some along with a Christmas and birthday present. You're lucky it's my last one!" She said, dropping it in his hand and skipping ahead to catch up with Temari.

"Of course," Kankurou said, giving the kiss to a maid that was walking by.

When they got outside Hinata began to shiver, the sun hadn't even raised enough to warm the city. They glanced around and only saw a few people milling about going along with their own business and ignoring the three teens. No signs of mass panic or any other reason they would need to pack.

"What is going on?" Temari whispered to herself.

"I don't know but whatever it is, can we find out inside? If the Chicks see me like this I'm ruined!" Kankurou cried trying to conceal himself behind Hinata.

They were about to turn around and go back in the building when a cold voice stopped them.

"Where did you get that atrocious robe Kankurou?" Gaara asked, almost growling at the vibrant pink clothing that covered his brother.

"Oh Gaara! Thank God!" Temari said approaching her younger brother. "You won't believe it! Maids came into our room threw us out and began to pack our belongings in a bag!"

"So?" Gaara asked.

"So! Why are they doing it!?" Temari freaked.

"Well you all need to be packed in an hour so I thought you would need help." Gaara stated.

"Why do we need to pack!?" Temari cried frustrated.

"For our vacation to snow country of course. So hurry." Gaara said turning away.

"Really!" Temari squealed.

"No way!" Kankurou exclaimed.

Hinata watched as the two older sand ninja danced around and Gaara kept his back turned to them. Slowly he turned to look at her with what seemed to be a nervous expression. She smiled warmly before bowing low.

"Arigotou Gaara-sama." She said her voice so small she thought that maybe he didn't hear it.

However when she stood up she saw a small smirk on his face and she knew that he did. Quickly she dragged Temari and Kankurou into the tower and soon they were on their way. It was a long and uneventful trip Snow Country but as they got closer the sand siblings who decided stay in their normal clothes began to change. As they reached the border Hinata looked back at her companions. Kankurou was dressed in a heavy black coat and a long black scarf and his kitty hood. Temari was in a long light purple jacket with a light purple ski hat over two of her four ponytails. Finally she looked at Gaara and had to suppress a laugh. He was in a long light brown coat that reached below his knees with boots that covered the rest of his legs. His hands were shoved in his pockets and another light brown wool scarf was wrapped around his neck and ended beneath his bright red nose. It looked as if he had tried to cover his head but his unruly red hair stuck straight up and made a bright contrast to the snow below their feet. His aquamarine eyes glaring at the snow.

"Oh Gaara-sama, if you dislike this weather we can go back." Hinata said worriedly.

He only shook his head and everything was silent until they reached town.

"It's so…" Hinata began breathless.

"Cold?" Kankurou suggested.

"No, it's so…" Hinata began again.

"White?" Kankurou interjected again and getting smacked by Temari.

"Beautiful." Both girls said in unison.

"I don't see what's so great about frozen water." Kankurou said honestly. "I only came here for the sake of a vacation and babes!"

Hinata was about to open her mouth and contradict Kankurou when a snowball crashed into his head. Her eyes widened and she was also hit with a snowball. They both turned to see Temari laughing and standing next to a confused Gaara.

"Oh yeah?" Kankurou challenged. "Take this Temari!"

Temari yelped and ducked behind Gaara just in time as the snowball Kankurou had thrown smacked Gaara in the face. Everything grew silent until Gaara's eyes narrowed in rage and he slid his hands from his pockets.

"Now Gaara…I didn't mean to hit you! I was aiming for Temari and then she ducked behind you and…" Kankurou spluttered but was cut off by a face full of snow.

"Good one little brother!" Temari laughed before having her own demise with one of Gaara's snowballs.

Hinata looked around and noticed a few people gathering to watch but she didn't care. She just jogged over to Gaara.

"Come on Gaara-sama," Hinata said pulling on his frozen hand with her own gloved ones. "I call you for my team!"

"No fair!" Kankurou cried. "It should be boys vs. Girls!"

"Why?" Temari asked. "Cause you know we'll beat you?"

"No you won't beat us!" and then the argument ensued.

However it didn't last long before both siblings were pelted by another vicious snowball.

"Gaara! Enough already!" Temari said wiping it from her eyes.

"Yeah we were talking strategy!" Kankurou said shaking his face to rid himself of the snow.

"Don't blame me I wasn't the one who threw it." Gaara stated.

"What?" the other two said in unison before both getting pelted again.

"It was me," Hinata said as they began to rub off the snow. "This is a snowball fight, there is no strategy, it's kill or be killed, and we are winning."

Temari and Kankurou looked at each other, then back at the two younger teens.

"Oh…YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Kankurou cried before scooping up some snow along with Temari.

Hinata giggled, grabbed Gaara's hand and ran as the snowball war began. It ended about an hour after, with Gaara and Hinata the proud victors while both Temari and Kankurou were bushed.

"What the heck guys?" Kankurou panted, as he lay sprawled on the ground.

"I mean I get why Gaara had so much stamina but Hinata, what was that?" Temari asked impressed.

Hinata blushed and giggled before helping both of the older ones up and heading to an inn to check in.

"I already booked a hotel." Gaara said, muffled through his scarf.

"Thanks bro!" Kankurou yelled as he began to run up to the pricey hotel his brother had pointed out to them.

"Yeah thanks Gaara!" Temari cried running to catch up with Kankurou.

"Oh we better hurry to! We're soaked!" Hinata said dragging Gaara behind her as she made a run for the hotel.

They met in the large wreck room in between their rooms and sat with towels draped over their heads.

"That was fun," Hinata commented, rubbing her head vigorously with the towel. "Demo I want to go see some shops, will you come with me Temari-chan?"

"Of course!" Temari said throwing her towel at Kankurou's face.

And without another word both girls were gone and before Gaara could blink Kankurou was pulling on his own snow clothes.

"These aren't quite dry yet, but I'll chance it." Kankurou mumbled to himself.

"Where are you going?" Gaara asked, his tone matching the frigid air outside.

"To pick up some babes," Kankurou said opening the door.

"And what makes you think they'll go anywhere near you?" Gaara asked.

"Because I am a golden Adonis!" Kankurou cried before slamming the door behind him.

Gaara rolled his eyes but remained in his chair for a few more minutes until he was sure no one would be near the hotel. He got to his feet and a wave of nausea hit him, luckily his reaction time was good and he emptied his breakfast into the closest toilet. After he cleaned up he looked at himself in the mirror, he looked normal. But on the inside his sides hurt and his head was pounding, he had no idea what was going on. Without a second thought he pulled on his own wet snow clothes and went out, in search of a present for Hinata.

**A/N: Um yeah, this chapter may not be formatted like my others, my dad got a new girlfriend and she decided to give me 'constructive criticism'. Basically she rewrote half the chapter, luckily I was able scavenge some of it while they weren't looking. Sorry if it's stupid! Please Read and Review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Happy New Year!**

**Disclaimer: Don't I wish**

**Chapter 24**

The bell tinkled above the door as Hinata and Temari burst into the shop giggling.

"So what do you have left to buy?" Temari asked, inspecting a magazine on a rack near the door.

"Just one gift," Hinata said sorting through a bunch of jackets.

"Gaara?" Temari asked knowingly.

"Y-yeah," Hinata stuttered, blushing a bit.

"Here I'll help," Temari said walking over to the younger girl. "A jacket? Are you kidding? Gaara could have one hand made, he doesn't need another."

"I know," Hinata gushed. "I want to get him something special, I just don't know what."

"Hmm, maybe a locket?" Temari teased as they moved over to the jewelry. "Or an engagement ring."

Hinata gave her an exasperated look as she continued to search the store. Temari followed her rolling her eyes at certain gifts and laughing at others. After the first store they continued to search the shops along the street, and still nothing seemed to be good enough for the Kazekage. Finally they stopped outside a jewelry store and Hinata gasped.

"Hinata when I mentioned jewelry I was kidding, Gaara would never wear it." Temari said trying to convince her friend to stay out of the shop.

But the Hyuuga ignored her and dashed into the shop, giving Temari no choice but to follow her. The shop seemed to be classy, diamonds and other precious stones shone in the dim lights of the store. A young man sat behind the counter, but as the two girls entered his back straightened and a charming smile found a way onto his face.

"Why hello! How may I help you two lovely ladies?" He said in a pushy salesman voice.

Hinata ignored him and ran over to one of the display cases, gently outlining the item inside with her fingertips. Temari glanced at the boy, shrugged and followed Hinata, to look at the item.

"No don't look!" Hinata said spreading her arms to hide the display case. "I want it to be a surprise, for all of you!"

"Oh Hinata!" Temari said exasperated.

"Just go on ahead of me, I'll catch up." Hinata said, not budging.

"What ever," Temari scoffed, turning and leaving the shop.

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Gaara dragged his feet through the snow, as he searched for the one thing that would supply the gift he needed. He sneezed and his head pounded viciously.

'This weather isn't good for us,' Shukaku's voice echoed in his head, as if he wasn't all there.

"Shut up," Gaara said, sniffing and shoving his gloved hands in his warm wool pockets.

The girls along the street giggled and pointed as he passed by, but he took no notice. Instead he felt hopeful as his destination was finally in sight. Without even realizing it, he began to run, attracting even more stares, the bell of the shop door rang loudly in his hypersensitive ears as he slammed the door open.

"Hello, may I help you?" the old woman behind the desk asked.

"Kittens…where?" Gaara asked, stifling another sneeze.

"Back corner…are you all right sir?" she proceeded to ask.

Gaara shook his head and headed to the back corner where the kittens were located. However as he neared the small pen all the kittens made a mad rush to the other end of the box, cowering away from Gaara. He knew it would happen, but he stuck his hand in the box and held it palm up, waiting for one to approach him. It took a long while but finally two small felines wondered out of the corners. One a sandy blonde that treated Gaara like an intruder, hissing and spitting, the other a small white cat that walked out hesitantly. It watched his hand, and Gaara wiggled his fingers to watch her reaction, and the cat jumped. He smirked, and held his hand still again. The old woman came from behind the counter and stood next to Gaara as the white kitten rubbed against his hand. Gently he lifted the cat out of the pen and held it up for inspection.

He turned it this way and that, checking it's paws and tail. It snuggled against his hand a let out a soft purr. Gaara dropped it back in the pen shocked. The cat landed with a small meow of pain, and it backed away again.

"Aww, she was just purring." The old woman said.

He slowly put his hand back in the box and waited, hoping for another cat to approach. To his shock the white cat came back touching his hand experimentally before climbing in it again.

"It seems that she still trusts you," the woman said.

Gaara's eyes darted back and forth between the hyper active sandy cat and the small white cat curled in his hand. Immediately knew which he would choose.



Hinata examined the two intertwined silver bracelets, as she walked through the pilling snow, she took her finger filled it with Chakra and touched one of the bracelets gently. It seemed to spring to life and twist protectively around her hand while it's twin grew warm to touch. She tested it with the other bracelet and it to reacted the same. It was perfect for Gaara and she placed it neatly back in the box where it belonged, before pressing it close to her and jogging through the streets. She saw someone coming and tried to avoid them but it was to late and she crashed into them sending both herself and said person to the ground.

"I am so sorry!" Hinata said trying to get up off the man she landed on.

"It's okay, not everyday I get knocked over by a girl as pretty as you." He commented sitting up. "Whoops you dropped this." He continued picking up the jewelry box from the snow.

"Thanks," she said, her hand shaking with numbness, as she grasped the box.

"It seems that your hand is numb," the boy said, Hinata now noticing his grass headband. "Let me warm it for you."

"Oh no, that's okay." Hinata stammered, getting to her feet.

"Really I insist, I am a medical ninja." And with that he grabbed her hand and sent warmth from his hands to hers and soon she could feel them again.

"Hey Hina!" Temari called running towards her, but stopping as she saw the boy. "Who's this?"

"I'm a medic ninja from grass my name is…" the boy began but was cut off as Temari pulled Hinata away from the boy.

"Sorry but we have to go, see ya!" Temari said, dragging a stunned Hinata away.

"No worries!" He called after them. "I'm staying just around the corner!" and with that the two girls were gone.

"Seiji that was retarded." One of his teammates said.

"Yeah I know," he replied, before turning to face his friends. "I just couldn't help it."



The Kazekage walked through the streets focused on a single destination, the small white cat purring curled in his arms. In fact he was so determined to get to his destination in one piece he almost stepped on the small creature buried in the snow. His feet only stopped moving when he felt vomit well in his throat and he stood waiting for it to pass with one hand pressed to his mouth the other holding the kitten tightly to his chest. Aquamarine eyes swirled in their sockets, before resting on the shivering lump in the snow. His brow furrowed and he bent down before digging through the snow with his gloved hand, there he found another cat this one a light orange. It stared at him with hazy blue eyes and it's mouth opened in a silent plea for help. Gaara looked at the white kitten then looked at the other and sighed as he picked up both and continued back to the inn. When he got there he opened the door and was met with Hinata and his siblings passing around presents.

"Welcome back Gaara-sama," Hinata said, stacking her presents neatly.

"We decided to open presents early so we could just hang out tomorrow and leave on Hinata's birthday. " Temari said, slowly opening one of her presents.

Kankurou tore into his presents completely ignoring his younger brother. Hinata shook her head and slowly opened her presents being sure to thank them, Temari for her new jacket and pants, and Kankurou for a pair of fuzzy handcuffs that had a small note attached.

"Lets play cops and robbers? Kankurou that's disgusting!" Temari cried throwing them at her brother's head, while he just chuckled, perversely.

Hinata stood from her spot on the couch and approached Gaara slowly, hiding the small box behind her back. When she stopped in front of the Kazekage she held out the gift.

"Merry Christmas Gaara-sama!" she said, holding it out for him to receive.

But the redhead just stood there, eyes glazed over. Hinata's head fell, upset that maybe her present wasn't worthwhile.

"I'm sorry, Gaara-sama," Hinata said taking back her present, tears stinging her eyes.

However she saw the Youngman's knees buckle and he began to fall his unconscious body fell onto Hinata who caught him.

"Gaara-sama!" Hinata cried as Temari and Kankurou came to assist Hinata, none of them noticing the two kittens that circled their feet. "Gaara-sama!'

But he didn't answer; they brought him to his bedroom for closer inspection. Hinata laid her hand on his forehead before quickly removing it like it was scorched against his fevered head.

"Gaara-sama is sick!" Hinata stated. "He needs a doctor!"

"Maybe you're right," Temari said worriedly but didn't get to say anything else before Hinata disappeared out the door.



She dashed through the snowy streets as the words of the Medic ninja from earlier raced through her head. As she made it back to the place where they met she glanced around and found the closest inn and ran.

'_Gaara-sama's sick and it's all my fault!' _Hinata screamed at herself climbing up to the room the innkeeper had told her about.

She pounded on the door over and over not even caring if she was disturbing anyone. The door opened and a different boy stood in front of her, a glare permanent on his face.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry but is there a medical ninja that resides here?" Hinata asked frantic.

"Yeah? What business is it of yours?" The boy asked.

"Hey who is that, Rio?" another male voice asked from the inside.

"No one, mind your own business!" Rio said from the door.

But the other boy didn't listen and came to the door to pry it open. He looked shocked to see her before grinning.

"Hey, Tachibana! Your ploy worked!" the new boy called into the back.

"What are you two…hi," the medic ninja said, showing up at the door and seeing Hinata.

Without another thought she reached out and grabbed the boys hand before pulling him out the door and down the stairs. He kept with her pace but continued to let her lead even though his mind was brimming with questions that his lips couldn't move quick enough to ask them all.

"I need your help!" Hinata said, continuing to drag the boy behind her. "One of my friends is terribly ill. Please help me!"

"Why didn't you say so!" he cried as they sped up.

When they reached their rooms at the inn Hinata showed him to Gaara. He seemed surprised for a minute before setting to work. Hinata paced with Temari and Kankurou while they waited for the verdict. About an hour after he came the medic ninja left the room and came to talk with them.

"He has ammonia. It's extremely bad but it seems it has already begun to fade so that's good. And his little friend should be okay to." He said with a warm smile. "If you ever need me feel free to ask."

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" Hinata cried hugging him. "How can I ever repay you?"

"That's not necessary," he assured. "By the way my name is Tachibana."

"Well thank you, Tachibana-san." Hinata said bowing.

"No problem, um?" Tachibana waited.

"Hinata, Hinata Hyuuga," Hinata said.

"It was great meeting you Hyuuga-sama," Tachibana replied, bowing and using all his manners ever learned.

"You to, good bye" and with that the boy disappeared out the door.

"Can I go in and see Gaara?" Hinata asked, receiving a nod from both siblings.

She quietly opened the door and leaned in, looking around before going all the way in.

"Gaara?" she said timidly. "Gaara?" She asked again kneeling next to the bed.

"Hin…ata," he mumbled out turning his head to see her.

"I'm so sorry," she began a tear sliding down her cheek. "This is all my fault…"

"Shhh," Gaara interjected. "Merry Christmas. Thank you." He said, giving her his only words of gratitude.

"Why? Do you like my dumb present?" Hinata asked, her voice still shaky.

Gaara nodded slowly making Hinata laugh. A small Meow reached her ears and everything was silenced.

"What was that?" Hinata asked.

"Kitten," Gaara breathed.

"A kitten? Why?" Hinata asked curios.

"Merry Christmas." Gaara said, just as the white kitten appeared climbing on top of Gaara's Chest.

"It's so cute!" Hinata gasped. "What's its name?"

Gaara shrugged and watched amused as the kitten slid down his side while searching for a safe passage to Hinata.

"Well then I'm gonna name her Yuki, is that okay?" Hinata asked, and Gaara nodded in response.

She began to play with Yuki when she saw the sick ginger cat lying next to Gaara and her expression became worried.

"Aww, who is this?" she asked stroking the orange cat lightly.

"Stray, you name it, Happy Birthday." Gaara said weakly.

"All right then," Hinata said, looking hard at the sickly kitten. "You will be Kazuma."

The kitten seemed to rub against Hinata's fingers at the mention of the name. She gently played with them here and there, until she finally looked up at Gaara.

"Thank you, Gaara-kun," Hinata said, letting herself slip this once in front of the Kazekage.

"Merry Christmas, Hinata-chan," Gaara said, returning the favor as he recovered from his sickness.

**A/N: Another end to another crappy chapter, but still please review. I get so many hits in yet so little reviews, but I thank everyone who has even bothered to read this story and again HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey here's the last chapter I can post before school starts again so I hope you enjoy it!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 25

A dust cloud subsided to reveal a log in place of the person there a moment ago. The predator's eyes swiveled wildly as it searched for its prey. A rustle to the left, a twig snapping off to the right. Its eyes closed as it concentrated on the one thing that would lead straight to their victim. Silence.

_Ba__-bump! __Ba__-bump! __Ba__-bump!_ The erratic heartbeat filled the poacher's ears and the opportunity to attack fell in their lap. In a flurry of leaves and birds it pounced.

Matsuri pushed and struggled as much as she could, to try and free herself from her attacker. Thinking quickly she filled a fist full of chakra toward its face. As expected the target of her punch jumped away and Matsuri sent a clone to tackle her enemy. Scrambling to her feet she stumbled through the small forest searching for the sound of water. The gash on her arm continued to bleed profusely, and her chakra was quickly depleting, she had enough for one medical jutsu nothing more. She reached into the pouch attached to her waist and searched for a soldier pill to help boost her chakra but cursed when she felt a hole at the bottom. A new plan formed in her mind. Heal, and run for the waterfall as fast as possible. She nodded as if to reassure herself that this plan would work. Her hand began to glow a bright green and she pressed it hard onto her arm. When the glowing stopped she winced. Apparently she didn't have enough chakra to heal herself, but it would do. Getting to her feet she stretched then dashed foreword, jumping through the trees. The roar of water reassured her enough to speed up. Her heart sank, however when she burst through the trees and came face to face with her opponent. They looked at each other then at the stone pillar that rose out of the water.

"I'll give you a head start," the other person teased.

Matsuri grinned but took the offer and ran. She jumped up on the small pikes jutting out on the pillar.

"You know I was kidding!" the person pouted standing on a geyser rising from the water.

"I know but I couldn't resist," Matsuri panted from the physical strain

"Well now for revenge!" the other person said grinning and placing their hand on the pillar.

"You wouldn't dare!" Matsuri growled.

"Oh but I would," and with that the stones in the pillar shifted and Matsuri fell into the water.

When she resurfaced the other person held a hand out to her. Matsuri heaved her self out of the water and crossed her arms.

"I wi…," began her enemy but was cut off as Matsuri aimed a kick at their head.

They dodged and also took up a taijutsu stance. There was no noise as they dashed toward each other. A punch aimed at the face a kick on a collision course with the gut, but all were done somewhat playfully. Finally Matsuri got serious and put all of her weight into one punch, her opponent's eyes widened and they grabbed her wrist before fracturing it in the heat of the moment.

"You shouldn't have done that," the person said. "I'm not good with fractures."

"You shouldn't have retrieved it, I will get it!" Matsuri said aiming another heavy punch.

"Look! You need to stop, I don't want to hurt you!" they almost pleaded with her.

Matsuri ignored them and aimed another hit, this time with her legs. Unfortunately her ankle was caught and her leg was ripped from the socket. She fell to the ground panting at the pain, as the other person backed away.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to hurt you! I only needed to defend myself!" they stammered.

Matsuri got to her feet and was about to go after her opponent when a wall of fire sprang up in between them. She stopped dead and pouted, anger swelling in her.

"Alright I win." The person said as the fire fell.

"Yeah yeah, the only reason why Hinata-chan won is because she cheated," Matsuri mumbled.

"I did not cheat!" Hinata said, hurt.

"What about shifting the pillar so I fell in the water!" Matsuri accused.

"Alright that was a little uncalled for," Hinata admitted. "But what about attacking me after I already retrieved it?"

Matsuri was about to retort but was cut off as another person appeared between them.

"Who won?" Gaara asked, looking between Hinata and Matsuri.

"Hinata," Matsuri said looking at the ground in shame.

"Hn…" was Gaara's reply before he turned to the Hyuuga. "May I have it?" he asked as politely as he could.

Hinata nodded before producing a scroll and handing it to the Kazekage, their hands lingering on the scroll before Hinata released it. Matsuri watched, leaning on a tree to try and ignore the dull throbbing of her leg and wrist. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the two familiar teens. They took her in and took care of her but sometimes she wondered if there was any romance between the two.

"Oh no! Gomen Matsuri!" Hinata said before jogging over to her. "I forgot to tend to your wounds."

"I'm fine," Matsuri said, acting tough.

The Hyuuga glanced at the Kazekage before they both walked over to her. Hinata knelt down and began a medical jutsu while Gaara lifted Matsuri's leg and she winced. He pulled it out a bit before shoving it in hard and popping it back into place.

"Ahh!" Matsuri gasped, as her leg felt as if it was on fire.

"Here," Hinata said laying her hands gently on Matsuri's leg and soothed the burn.

Hinata finished with her leg and then moved onto the wrist, Gaara held Matsuri's arm still and waited.

"That's the best I can do for now but you shouldn't walk on that leg." Hinata said. "I'll carry you."

"No you don't have to…" Matsuri began blabbering before Hinata quickly formed a jutsu to knock her unconscious.

Hinata lifted Matsuri onto her back and began to follow him out of the oasis and on their way across the dessert.

"You went easy on her," Gaara accused.

"I know," Hinata said uncomfortably. "Demo I had an unfair advantage."

"In battle there will always be an unfair advantage." Gaara said.

"I know," Hinata said, her head hanging as they continued to head back to Suna.

Gaara glanced at Hinata before reaching into his sash and pulling out one of the matching bracelets Hinata had given him for Christmas.

"You left this in my office, you promised to take it if I let you do this training exorcise alone if you wore it." Gaara said.

"I was looking everywhere for that but I couldn't find it!" Hinata said. "Thank you Gaara-kun!"

He slid the bracelet onto her wrist and they began walking again. Matsuri snored softly on Hinata's back making the Hyuuga giggle. They entered Suna as the sun began to sink below the red rocks.

"Will Matsuri stay for dinner?" Hinata asked as the young girl started to stir.

"I am afraid not, Temari said that tonight was special." Gaara said, waving down a food vendor and purchasing some. "We'll feed her this and I bought extra for Akito."

Hinata watched with a smile as Gaara continued on his way to the orphanage. By the time they got their Matsuri awoke.

"Akito put this on some plates for you and Matsuri and come to her bed so you can eat together." Gaara said, relieving Hinata of Matsuri and carrying her to her bed.

Both of them stood next to Matsuri's bed and waited until Akito came running back with the food. Slowly Matsuri looked up at them, sadness evident in her dark brown eyes.

"What's wrong Matsuri?" asked Gaara.

"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you Hinata-chan?" Matsuri asked, surprising both of the older people.

"Uh well yes…"she said, her sad expression matching her younger friend. "First thing tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there Hinata-chan," Matsuri said looking at her and grabbing her hand. "Promise."

Hinata nodded before she was pulled back to reality by Gaara.

"Temari will go crazy if we're late, we need to go." Gaara said.

"Alright, good night Matsuri-chan, I'll see you tomorrow then." Hinata waved, before following him out.

They walked to the tower in silence; Matsuri blurting out the obvious was like a slap in the face. Hinata glanced over to the Kazekage and her heart stung, soon she wouldn't be able to see him every day or train with him. Her eyes glanced down at the silver bracelet hanging loosely on her wrist. A smile passed over her lips, knowing that they would always be connected through the bracelets at least.

"Are you coming Hinata?" Gaara asked holding the door to the tower open.

"Oh yes! I'm sorry," She said before dashing through the door with a soft thank you.

"There you are!" Temari cried, walking up to them. "Gaara, you promised you wouldn't be late."

"Gomen!" Hinata said cutting her off. "It was my fault, I hurt Matsuri and we had to drop her off."

"Oh well then that's different," Temari said. "Alright! Time for my surprise!" she said grabbing Hinata's hand and dragging her to the dining hall.

Hinata began to giggle, glancing back at Gaara who smirked and followed them. The doors were opened to reveal Kankurou trying to sweet talk a red faced maid.

"Seriously, you seem like a lot of fun," he said smoothly.

"Ano, Kankurou-sama I must be g-going now," She stuttered, backing up a bit.

"Aww come on, you could stay for a little bit longer," Kankurou said, puckering his lips.

"Onegai…" the maid begged, trying to escape.

"Kankurou," Gaara's voice rang out in the huge room.

The maid and Kankurou both looked embarrassed, but both soon recovered.

"Gaara! You ruined the moment man!" Kankurou teased.

"Oh thank you Gaara-sama!" the maid said rushing over to him hearts practically visible in her eyes.

Hinata, Kankurou and Temari looked on in shock as the once frightful maid was now hanging all over the Kazekage. It puzzled the Hyuuga; she knew that Gaara had grown more handsome everyday but everyone used to hate him, now they seemed unable to keep their hands off him.

"Hey," Temari said, elbowing Hinata in the side. "Someone is trying to steal your man, you need to go and mark your territory."

"My territory?" Hinata asked, louder then she meant to, making it echo in the room.

Kankurou began to laugh, while Temari looked away embarrassed. The maid seemed somewhat smug, and Gaara just stared at Hinata waiting to see if the real meaning would soon sink in. Unfortunately for Hinata it did and her cheeks burned bright red as she turned to Temari.

"Temari! I h-have no territory!" Hinata said, trying hard not to glance at the Kazekage.

Gaara dismissed the maid, who looked as if she was slapped in the face, before he went to the two girls and saved Hinata from any other humiliation.

"Temari what about you're surprise dinner?" Gaara asked.

"Oh right! Sit! Sit!" Temari said ushering everyone to take a seat.

As per usual Gaara sat at the head of the table his siblings at either side of him and Hinata next to Temari. Just as the Hyuuga pulled out her chair she heard a meow and she looked down.

"Ahh! Yuki-chan, there you are, I didn't see you this morning," she said scooping up the small cat. "I seem to lose you more than anything!" Hinata said putting the white cat onto the table where it began to explore. "I wonder where Kazu-kun is."

Just as she spoke, the ginger cat came slinking into the room and walked straight toward Gaara, who picked it up and put it on the table. They watched the two cats interact for a few minutes, watching as Yuki would shyly approach Kazuma who only stared. Then after the white cat would get discouraged Kazuma would always move a little closer. Hinata glanced at Gaara and smiled warmly at him, another thank you for the two cats that he gave her. The door to the kitchen swung open and a butler came out carrying drinks.

They all took them silently, Kankurou shifted uncomfortably, not accustomed to the silence and definitely not enjoying it. Temari cleared her throat and began conversation.

"So how did training go?" she said, almost grimacing at the motherly tone that came with it.

"Good," Hinata answered.

"Hinata won," Gaara stated.

"Good for you Hinata," Kankurou tried to encourage.

The door swung open again and the food was on its way, but the butler didn't notice Yuki and Kazuma. He stepped on Yuki's tail making the white cat meow loudly and the ginger cat bite him on the ankle. The man hopped around on one foot until he lost balanced and one tray of food flew out of his hands and a bowel of scalding soup landed on Kankurou's lap.

"AHHH!" the puppeteer screamed. "Son of a ….! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Temari was about to say something to calm her brother when a bowel of Caesar salad landed on her head. Hinata stood to remove the salad bowel and Gaara began to clean off the table where some of the soup spilled. After Hinata had removed the salad bowel another butler came in, he tripped over the one on the floor and his food also went flying in all directions, nailing Kankurou in the face with toasted bread and a bowel of mashed potatoes replacing the salad bowel on Temari's head. Hinata glanced at the door as it began to open again and dove under the table. She crawled as fast as she could to where Gaara stood and pulled him under the table with her.

"We should hide here until the servers get up or until they run out of food." Hinata said, just as a ceramic bowel hit the table hard above their heads.

After a few minutes of silence, Gaara dared to go out. Then when Gaara signaled to Hinata she also got up. Her eyes found Temari who was trying to clean mashed potatoes, cranberries and salad off her face and head. She then looked over at Kankurou who had macaroni and cheese along with a strange red food along with soup in his lap, to stunned to do anything. The swinging of the door almost made Hinata's heart stop as her and Gaara looked at the door. This guy was carrying a tray full of desserts. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the man tripped over his fellow servers and the desserts went flying, a huge dish of assorted ice creams and flavors landed on Gaara's head, shocking the red head so much that he fell to the ground. Then just like in a classic comedy a pie landed on Hinata's face.

* * *

Hinata continued to dry her hair after a long shower, finally all the pie had come out of her hair. Another few shakes with the towel and she was satisfied. She looked over to her bed to see Kazuma napping peacefully on it. Taking the damp towel she through it on top of him and woke him up. Giggling she hoped on her bed and waited for him to curl up on her stomach as usual and fall back into a small nap. One glance around the room brought Hinata's once cheerful mood to sadness. Three bags of luggage sat next to the door while everything else was empty. As gently as she could Hinata transferred Kazuma onto a small cat bed at the foot of the bed. She took one last glance around her room before heading to the roof, to sit and chat with the Kazekage.

"Hey Gaara-kun," Hinata greeted as she took a seat beside him.

"Hn," was his reply as he stared at something in his hands.

Hinata tilted her head and saw Yuki curled in the Kazekage's large hands, and the Hyuuga giggled at how gentle he was with the cats.

"So it's decided right?" Hinata asked, earning a curious glance from Gaara. "I'll take Yuki back to Konoha with me, and then whenever you come for a visit we'll switch out."

Gaara only nodded, the mention of the leaf village making him completely unresponsive. White eyes shone with sadness as they stared at the horizon willing dawn to never come.

"I'll miss you," Hinata said, wiping away a few tears. "I'll really miss you."

Still Gaara remained silent, making Hinata hurt even more. She stood up again, forcing a smile on her face.

"Well goodnight Gaara-kun," she said her voice a bit shaky.

However as she was about to go back inside Gaara grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She looked at him a glimmer of hope burning in her eyes. But when the Kazekage stayed silent, Hinata felt her heart crack. She slid her hand from his loose grip and walked back in to the tower, leaving Gaara to himself.

* * *

The next morning Hinata awoke at dawn and got dressed. She searched the room for anything she might have forgotten, not noticing Kazuma trading places with Yuki in Hinata's bag. After she was satisfied she grabbed all her things and headed to the exit to Suna. The people on the streets stopped and stared as she passed, whispering rumors to one another. Finally she saw Temari, Kankurou and Matsuri waiting for her and she sped up slightly, ignoring the ache of her heart at the missing Kazekage.

"There you are!" Temari said. "Guess what I learned this morning? I'm going to Konoha to, to get a treaty from the Hokage!"

Hinata who was obviously supposed to be ecstatic at the news only smiled sadly. Temari glanced at Matsuri and Kankurou who both looked disappointed.

"Here Hinata-nee-chan!" Matsuri cried holding out a small wood box. "It's a goodbye gift."

The Hyuuga smiled and took the box, when she opened it she found a bracelet made of small blue glassy stones that could only be found at the bottom of the lake in the oasis. Her eyes stung with tears.

"Arigotou, Matsuri-chan…" Hinata said her voice cracking.

"Me next," Kankurou said holding out a cardboard box.

Hinata began to open it suspiciously, but when she saw the gift she looked up at Kankurou shocked.

"H-how did you know?" she asked, still trying to recover from the surprise.

"Well, let's just say I have great memory." Kankurou said shrugging.

"Arigotou," Hinata said, not hesitating to hug Kankurou.

"Hey I have a gift to!' Temari pouted.

Hinata turned back to Temari who held out a narrow box. The Hyuuga took it and opened that one to; she pulled out the white gold locket, which had her initials engraved on it. She opened it to find a picture of her and Temari around a month after coming to Suna and on the other side was a picture of her and Gaara in snow country.

"Arigotou," and this time the tears would not stop.

They gathered around her patting her on the back and saying their last goodbyes. Hinata was about to walk out of the gate when she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned hopefully but was only disappointed to see a Jounin standing behind her.

"From the Kazekage," he said simply before shoving another box into Hinata's arms.

She looked at the box, dumbfounded until Temari urged her to open it. Slowly she lifted the lid and gasped before pulling out the gift and dropping the box to the ground. It unfolded itself to reveal a beautiful whit kimono with blood red flowers on the hem a bright yellow obi also included.

"It's beautiful," Hinata gasped.

"It was our mothers," Temari said, as a side note.

The Hyuuga looked at her, her mouth opened about to give the beautiful Kimono back when Temari silenced her with a smile.

"It will look great on you." Temari said.

Hinata glanced at Kankurou who also smiled and nodded, she was so astounded by the dress she didn't notice the note that fell from it. Matsuri saw it, picked it up and read it.

"Hinata-chan," She said a smile forming on her face. "I think this is for you to." Matsuri concluded holding out the piece of paper for Hinata to read.

_I'll miss you to_

_ -Gaara_

Hinata once again began to cry as she held the note to her chest while Temari put the kimono back into the box. Once again they were on their way out; Hinata gave one last glance at the Kazekage tower and saw the familiar silhouette of Gaara. One last tear slid down her cheek before she turned back to the path to Konoha.

**A/N: I decided to go back and reread this, fix any mistakes and whatever, there will be more but I'll probably break it into two parts now, the other part will follow more of ****Shippuden and it will show if Gaara and Hinata will ever get married and all that other junk. So please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: It took me a while but I've finally reread all of my chapters and decided what I would do for the rest of it. This chapter will probably be brief and maybe a bit crappy but I had to hurry since school started again. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own any form of Naruto**

** Chapter: 1**

Naruto continued to walk with Jiraya, his mind racing. The gates of Konoha were in sight and he wanted to see how much it changed. His blue eyes flickered over to his sensei that seemed to stare a head grimly. He opened his mouth to say something when the older man cut him off.

"Go on a head Naruto, you must be anxious to see your friends." Jiraya said his lips twitching slightly as Naruto's already bright blue eyes became even brighter.

The blonde only nodded before sprinting ahead, losing control of himself as he got closer and closer to his home. However when he got to the gates he stopped, both looming over his head foreboding.

"I thought you were excited?" Jiraya teased.

Naruto remained silent, worrying his teacher. A frown crossed his face as his mind rewound to the past, being ignored being exiled.

"Hey," Jiraya said trying to catch the attention of his pupil. "I bet all your friends are waiting for you."

Naruto's face lightened slightly before he looked at his teacher with a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah lets go see everyone you old pervert." Naruto said.

"I told you not to call me a pervert!" Jiraya cried, just as Naruto dashed into the gates.

He looked around and nothing seemed to be at all different, pushing chakra into his feet and he ran up a telephone pole (**that's what it looks like to me**.) to gain a bird's eye view of the landscape. Then from below he heard voices, he looked down and caught sight of a bright pink head and he grinned.

"Sakura-chan!" He cried running down the pole to greet his old teammate.

"Naruto-baka? Is that you?" Sakura asked shocked.

"Aww Sakura-chan," Naruto said abashed. "I was hoping you would enjoy my return."

"I do Naruto! Really!" the pinkette said, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

The blonde grinned not failing to notice the small blush, but soon his eyes were drawn to three twelve year olds standing next to the young medic ninja.

"Konahamaru, is that you?" Naruto asked narrowing is ocean blue eyes.

"Yup!" the boy answered grinning. "And check this out!"

Naruto placed his hands on his hips as Konahamaru did a few hand signs before a huge cloud of smoke enveloped him. When it started to clear, in front of them stood a naked woman.

"So what do you think?" the female asked, in her high giggly voice.

Sakura glared at the two waiting for Naruto to make a perverted crack; instead he hung his head in what appeared to be shame.

"Konahamaru, that's wrong." Naruto said quietly.

All of the blonde's companions were stunned and Konahamaru dropped the henge. However what no one noticed was the mischievous glint in Naruto's eyes.

"No, that technique is all wrong," he said his head snapping up. "See I learned quite a few things that would make that technique extremely outdated!"

A fist connected with both of their heads and both boys fell to the ground holding their heads. Sakura couldn't help but smile just a little at her old teammate.

"Come on lets go eat some ramen." Sakura said, dragging Naruto behind her.

Two figures shrouded in black dashed through the slowly closing gates of the hidden leaf village. One of them looked back while the other kept waling.

"Are you sure we wont get caught?" the one asked nervously.

"Yes yes!" the other said hastily. "Hurry!"

With that both jumped onto the roofs of the houses and began sprinting to the Hokage tower. One slowed down a little bit as they passed the ninja academy. Watching as the young children trained for the upcoming exam.

"Hey!" the other said, stopping as well. "I thought you wanted to hurry?"

"I do," they said, their gaze lingering on the children. "Let's go."

They continued into town, and just as they were about to pass over the ramen stand a loud hyperactive voice broke their concentration and they landed on the roof haphazardly.

"Are you okay?" one whispered to the other.

All the other one could do was nod. They were about to continue on when the same loud voice interrupted them. One slipped and began to slide down the roof. The other dove and was able to capture their partner's wrist.

* * *

"So much for a calm stealthy ninja!" the person snapped trying to hoist them up.

* * *

Naruto was so excited that he couldn't stop himself from yelling out as all of his friends approached him.

"Kiba!" How've you been man?" naruto asked.

"Ok you?" Kiba asked draping an arm around his blonde friends shoulder.

He was about to respond when Shikamaru's team arrived. Naruto slid out from Kiba's arm and instead slid one on Shikamaru's shoulders and the other on Chouji.

"Hey guys did you miss me?" naruto asked.

"Naruto get off me," Shikamaru whined.

"Yeah, it's great your back," Chouji answered for both of them.

The blonde smiled but it quickly disappeared as someone punched him softly in the stomach. He had to look slightly down but he finally caught the eye of the young blonde woman standing in front of him.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" he asked.

"What's with that tone Naruto?" the girl asked blowing the long bang out of her eye for a moment revealing light blue ones.

"Is that you Ino?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" she asked, giving him a soft glare.

"No. you just aren't what I thought you would look like," he said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult," Ino said still eyeing him suspiciously.

He was about to respond when he was cut off by another enthusiastic voice.

"Naruto!" Lee cried running up to him. "How are you my old friend, you certainly have changed!"

"I'm great," naruto began. "Thanks I feel like I've changed a lot and you don't seem to have changed one bit."

Lee frowned at the last part and naruto caught sight of his friend's sad expression.

"I meant that in a good way Lee." Naruto said quickly.

The boy with the heavy eyebrows looked up again and smiled. Another question was about to pass Naruto's lips when Tenten came running up to them out of breath.

"Neji's on a rampage!" she gasped out, hands on her knees. "Oh hi Naruto," Tenten added just noticing the blonde.

"Hi, why is Neji going crazy?" Naruto asked.

"Well today is the day that Hinata is supposed to come back to Konoha and he wants to make sure everyone is sensitive of her." Tenten answered.

Naruto's chest tightened as he thought of the Hyuuga heiress, she was the only one other then Sasuke from the rookie nine who wasn't there to greet him.

"So she did go to Suna," he mumbled more to himself then anyone.

"Yeah, why what'd you think she did?" Kiba asked, motioning over his dog and a silent Shino.

"I thought that it was just my imagination," he said, smiling.

Information flew through his head quickly as he recalled everything, all the wounds Hinata had sustained from being captured by the Akatsuki, being asked to give up on the search for her, and the threat that Shukaku would tear her apart. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a moment, trying to regain his happy mood. When he did open them again Neji was standing with them arguing with Tenten in hushed tones.

"Hey we're at a ramen stand," he announced. "So why are we standing out here, let's go eat!"

Just as they were about to walk into the restaurant a two cloaked figures fell to the ground from the roof.

* * *

"I can't hold on much longer!" the one cloaked figure said to the other.

"Is that a suggestion that I'm fat?" the other asked, trying to swing their legs back on the roof.

"Ha ha, this is no time for jokes!" it hissed to its dangling companion.

"I wasn't the one who laughed." It commented finally finding a foot hold.

"Are you almost back up?" the other whined, their arm falling asleep.

"Yes, now please be quiet!" they said almost getting all the way back onto the roof.

Unfortunately the other let go too soon and they lost their balance once again, this time both tumbling to the ground in a pile.

* * *

"That hurt," one groaned rubbing their backside while standing.

"Well I'm not the one who let go," the other retorted also standing.

They continued arguing unaware of the curious stares from the ninja in front of them. Naruto glanced at his friends who nodded and he drew out a kunai. Slowly he approached them, and when he finally reached them he tapped the shoulder of one. It turned and he held the kunai where its heart should be.

"Who are you and what s your business in leaf?" Naruto asked, prodding them gently.

"See! I told you we would get killed!" the other being cornered by Akamaru cried.

"Oh hush!" the other sighed turning their hooded face towards the other person.

Naruto continued to press gently, waiting for the person to reveal themselves. Slowly they turned back toward him and lifted their hands. The blonde Kitzune was now on extreme high alert. Two pale hands with long fingers reached up and pulled the hood down, receiving gasps from the surrounding ninja. The kunai fell to the ground with a soft thud and Naruto backed away slightly.

"It's good to see you to, Naruto-kun." Hinata Hyuuga said, clasping her hands in front of her and a warm smile spreading across her face.

**A/N: REVIEW PLEASE!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Wow the last chapter went off better then I could have hoped. As I was mapping out this story I realized my plans would make this one a lot more romantic then the first one, it wont be all romance but there will be a lot I hope you don't mind!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, however I do own most of this plot**

**Chapter: 2**

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked bewildered.

The Hyuuga only nodded smiling warmly at the gathered ninja. All was silent, until another soft voice broke the silence.

"It's good to see you Hinata-san," Shino said from his spot next to Akamaru.

Hinata smiled before walking to the Aburame and giving him a small hug. Surprisingly he returned the gesture, and everyone continued to stare in awe.

"Wow, not that this moment isn't touching or anything," the other cloaked figure said.

"Demo it would be nice if I got some hospitality as well!"

Everyone turned to watch the other cloaked figure but still remained silent, after a few moments Shikamaru mustered the 'courage' **(more like forced into it by Ino and Sakura)** to talk.

"If you want our hospitality then you'll have to reveal yourself." He said.

With a little grumble the hood was removed to reveal four spiky blonde ponytails protruding from the young woman's head.

"Is that anyway to treat a lady, Shikamaru Nara?" Temari asked, hands on hips.

"What lady? I don't see one." Shikamaru retorted earning a playful punch from the sand village girl.

Silence again. Hinata finally decided that she was sick of the uncomfortable silence and that if she was forced to break it she would. Clasping her hands behind her back she decided to speak to Naruto first.

"I'm sorry! I doubt you came here to just stand around outside the ramen shop, you should probably go in and eat." She replied.

"You're right!" the blonde young man exclaimed happily. "Let's go in and eat!"

Everyone nodded and began filing into the restaurant except for Hinata and Temari. Just as the last person disappeared into the shop, both teenage girls were about to take off.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, sticking his head outside the shop and searching around for the quiet girl. "Aren't you and Temari going to come in and eat with us?"

She smiled a very slight blush coming across her cheeks, unnoticeable to either teen staring at her.

"That's very kind Naruto-kun, demo I have to give my report to Tsunade-sama." Hinata said, touched that the boy who barely ever looked at her had asked if she wanted to dine with him.

"Now that you mention it," Naruto contemplated. "I think Ero-sanin wanted me to do that to. Hey! I know!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Why don't we go together? After we eat some ramen of course!"

"I don't know Naruto," Hinata began, shying away from the bright young man.

"Nah, I insist!" He cried grabbing Hinata's hand who in turn grabbed Temari's.

When they entered the shop they were greeted with a loud happy hooray and welcome from staff and visitors alike. Most were common villagers but a few were ninja. Hinata recognized Anko and Genma who sat in a back corner accompanied by two other Jounin, all-staring at her. She shifted slightly, uncomfortable from their intense and studious stares, alerting the blonde boy who still clasped tightly to her hand.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Naruto asked, dragging her back to reality.

"Mmm, nothing Naruto, Nothing to worry about. Why don't we sit?" she said gesturing to the table where everyone else was piled.

The kitzune nodded before dragging her to the table and all three taking a seat near each other.

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"Hyuuga's back," Genma said sullenly as he returned to his food.

"What's with that tone?" Anko asked, slurping in more noodles, while still keeping her highly trained eyes on the girl.

"Nothing, it's just that I heard some things," Genma shrugged.

"What kind of things?" one of the other Jounin asked.

"Oh Ayame, I forgot your new," Anko said, grinning.

"I'm new to!" the other said.

"Well Ayame, Natsu," Genma began. "Have you ever heard the story about Gaara of the desert?'

Both girls nodded with bated breath as he continued to weave his story.

"Well you see he had become Kazekage of the sand village." Genma said, winking at Anko discreetly, who got the idea and disappeared. "And he was, for awhile, a good ruler. But then when he lost control they begged us for help. So we decided we would send the fiercest ninja we had, Hinata Hyuuga."

"Ano Genma-senpai," Ayame said in a meek, childlike voice. "I thought Hyuuga Hinata-san was the weakest member of her clan?"

"That's exactly what she wants you to think," Genma said, in a low whisper, earning a collective gasp. "As a matter of fact she killed her uncle Hizashi. Besides, I've seen her fight myself, if she lost it's because she wants to loose."

Both girls squirmed a bit, to engrossed in the story to notice Anko carrying a large bucket filled with sand.

"Well anyway we sent her their and for awhile nothing changed, until…" he paused for dramatic effect. "She was nabbed by the Akatsuki!" both girls quivered hugging each other for comfort. "And surprisingly the kazekage went after her, where they clashed!"

The girls seemed a little relieved but still unaware of the approaching Jounin.

"Do you know how, the Kazekage kills his victim's?" Genma asked.

Both girls gasped and shook their heads.

"By burying them alive with SAND!" Genma almost shouted the last part just as the bucket was turned over and poured on their heads.

They shrieked attracting stares from everyone in the restaurant, while Anko and Genma laughed.

"That was mean Senpai!" Ayame grumbled as her other friend continued to shake.

"Yes it was mean," Genma agreed

"But oh so worth it!" Anko snickered.

The Jounin's continued their meals in silence glancing at the silent teens in the corner. Just as it seemed like there were going to speak when a loud squawk cut through the air.

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Soon their ramen was ordered and another silence fell over the friends. Sakura, who was extremely interested in hearing Hinata's stories decided to be the first to speak.

"So how was your trip back here Hinata-san?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

"Good, nice and quiet." Hinata said, laughing a bit at a memory.

"That's good…" Sakura began but was cut off by Ino.

"Hinata, I know this is a little tactless but, can you tell us about your run in with the Akatsuki?" Ino asked excitedly.

All eyes turned immediately to Hinata whose smile had faded. Temari glared at the other blonde girl about to open her mouth when Hinata lifted her hand to reassure her protective friend. Slowly her mouth opened as she contemplated how to start, however just as she was about to open her mouth a loud squawk filled the air.

"What was that?" Tenten asked, staring at Hinata's bag that had made the obnoxious noise.

A smile curled the edges of Hinata's mouth and Temari began to giggle at the other stunned faces.

"It's Kazu-kun," Hinata said.

"Kazu-kun?" everyone asked in unison.

She pulled her backpack up onto the table and began to dig through it. Everyone stared, expecting a parrot but instead a small ginger cat appeared from the folding's of the bag.

"It's a cat?" Kiba asked astonished.

Sakura blushed as she remembered her advice she gave to the Kazekage and wondered if that was the result. The green-eyed monster began to rear its ugly head.

"Demo, Hinata-san?" Ino asked. "What was with the squawk?"

"Kazuma enjoys imitating other animals," Temari answered as the white-eyed girl giggled and played with the small cat.

"Imitate other animals?" Shikamaru asked. "That's impossible."

"Not for Kazu-kun!" Hinata said as he wiggled out of her grasp and came to inspect Akamaru who had placed his nose on the table.

The two animals inspected each other, and then Kazuma gave out a squawk. Akamaru wagged his tail and let out a loud resounding bark.

"Akamaru!" Kiba snapped, trying to silence his dog.

"No wait Kiba-kun!" Hinata hissed.

Akamaru barked again but this time a little softer. Kazuma tilted his head and slowly opened his mouth and…barked!

Everyone was astonished except for Hinata and Temari were clapping for him. Kazuma barked again and again, and soon everyone was laughing and clapping, even Shikamaru.

"Alright guys lets eat!" Chouji said, as the ramen was set in front of them.

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"Looks like Naruto's trying to put his moves on Hinata already," Anko observed as said boy tried to shove some of his ramen in said girl's mouth.

"Do you blame him?" Genma asked, also watching.

"I think it's romantic," Natsu sighed.

"I think she'll be with him," Anko said.

"It's not going to last," Genma scoffed.

"You want to bet?" Anko said, smiling.

"Yeah," Genma said, taking the bate. "$100 that she starts with Naruto and then winds up marrying her cousin due to clan rules."

"Fine," Anko said. "I say that she marries Naruto and they live happily ever after."

"I say that, she will start off with Naruto then get married to someone who has yet to reveal themselves." Ayame said, flashing her 100.

"Yes, well I think that she'll be with the Kazekage!" Natsu, said happily, also revealing her 100.

Everyone stared at Natsu before they burst out laughing. Her smile faded and her 100 disappeared back into her pocket.

"Alright deal!" Anko said, recovering first. "A deals a deal!" she said holding out her hand.

"Deal!" Natsu said, confidently, grabbing Anko's hand.

"Deal," Ayame said after a moment, and then all eyes were fixed on Genma.

"You afraid?" Anko taunted him.

"Hell no!" he snapped grabbing their hands. "Deal!"

And they all shook hands, the deal done, waiting to see whose theory held water.

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After eating they all began to part ways, Neji grabbed his cousin's hand and held her tightly to his side as they waved bye to everyone.

"Hey Hinata-chan," Naruto said sheepishly. "Would you mind if I walk you home? I need to talk with you."

"Of course Naruto-kun," Hinata said, pulling away from her cousin, squeezing his hand before walking ahead with Naruto.

Neji watched them and looked as if he was slapped, but was shocked back into reality as Temari laid her hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright," the blonde woman said. "You'll catch up with her later, leave those two alone."

Neji nodded and walked slowly with Temari who told a few stories that he seemed to miss while the other two talked.

"So Hinata-chan," Naruto began. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, of course, why?" Hinata asked, curious.

"I want to apologize," he said, making Hinata pause mid stride before picking up the pace.

"Why?" Hinata asked her eyes widening.

"For abandoning you." Naruto said. "I swore I wouldn't but I stopped after awhile."

"I'm okay now Naruto-kun," Hinata said trying to shake off the chills, trying to force it's way up her spine. "There's no need to be sorry."

"No, it's not okay, from now on, me and you will be great friends, right?" Naruto said, as Hinata remained silent. "We will be friends won't we?" he asked afraid of rejection.

"Of course Naruto-kun, we'll be best friends." Hinata said as they made it to the Hyuuga mansion.

"Good," Naruto began, but Hinata was no longer paying any attention as she watched her father and sister training in the front yard.

Slowly Hinata left Naruto's side and slowly began walking to her family members face stony, but her eyes gleaming with apprehension. Neji and Temari had also made it, both stopping next to Naruto and watching the reaction. Finally the training session between the two main house Hyuuga ceased and Hiashi was about to open his mouth and praise his daughter when he caught sight of his eldest. He turned towards her and watched as she continued to slowly cross the yard. Hanabi had also turned and caught sight of her sister.

"Konichiwa, Chi-chiue," Hinata said bowing low to her father. "I have returned."

"Rise," Hiashi said in a detached, cold way.

Hinata slowly rose her eyes still trained on the ground and her hands clasped in front of her.

"Nee-san!" Hanabi cried, running toward her father and sister.

Hiashi held out his hand freezing Hanabi, who stood back against her will, giving her sister anxious looks.

"You have returned," Hiashi restated, lowering his hand. "And…" he began harshly making Hinata close her eyes. "I have never been happier."

Hinata's eyes shot open and she looked at her father disbelievingly, earning a small smile. Naruto smiled, and slowly walked away while Temari also bade farewell to Neji who looked on the scene. Hanabi smiled and ran to her sister before blabbering on about how much she was missed but the Hyuuga was no longer listening, instead she was watching the blonde young man walk away, a frown on her face. Through that whole time of meeting with the man she had once loved terribly she hadn't felt…anything.

**A/N: oooo It seems Hinata has gotten over her obsession with Naruto. The next chapter will still not be very exciting but it will help develop the plot. Oh and as a side note.**

**Konichiwa: Hello**

**Chi-chiue (sp?): Most honorable father.**

**Review! **


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Looking at my reviews and things it makes me sad thinking that no one likes it, so just so you remember please review! If you hate it let me know why, if you love it tell me why so please review. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter: 3**

Hinata had a hard time falling asleep that night, small traces of her nightmare caused by Itachi soon came back in full force. Neji sleeping right next store seemed to scare her more then reassure her, and Naruto was also there. After three hours of tossing and turning she decided that sleep was no longer an option she lifted her weary body out of bed and forced her heavy limbs to lead her to the bathroom. Her hand searched the wall for the light and flicked it on, surprised by her unnaturally pale face. Cold hands ran over her closed eyes when she opened them she made her way to the sink and ran her hands under the warm water. She splashed her face a few times and she picked up the clean white towel and wiped her face. When she held it at arms leg crimson stained it's cotton fibers and she gasped dropping it onto the counter and closing her eyes. Slowly she counted to ten and when she opened her eyes she saw her sparkling white towel lying on the counter.

"I'm going crazy!" she said before walking back into her room, grabbing the jacket that Kankurou had given her and jumped out her window.

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Gaara was suffering another sleepless night, which wasn't unusual, however they had been getting more and more distressing since Hinata left. He couldn't even sit in his spot on the roof anymore he grew restless to quickly. Yuki meowed from her small cradle in his arms as he leapt from building to building trying to tire himself out.

"It's okay Yuki," he said as he continued for Suna border.

When he got there he stopped and looked towards Konoha. Every night was the same, he would come to the edge of Suna and contemplate going to Konoha and getting Hinata and bringing her back. And although he had thought about it he had never really took it this seriously. He stepped foreword and before he knew it he was heading toward Konoha. The sand was kicked up in his wake as he continued to run across the desert, but as the border of fire country came closer and closer he slowly came to a stop.

'What am I doing?" he asked himself as he stood, the harsh winds blowing the sand through his red hair. 'She probably wont want to come back anyway, Naruto's there.'

Gaara had known about the Hyuuga's crush on the obnoxious blonde even before she came to Suna. He turned back around preparing to head back to his office and wait the night out in solitude. A soft meow from his arms made him look down into the big innocent eyes of the white kitten.

"It's alright Yuki," he said, deciding to walk slowly back to his village. "Everything will be ok."

He glanced up and saw the oasis, sitting in the soft glow of the moonlight and decided he would stay there. Picking up the pace slightly he reached the oasis within an hour. However when he got there he had nothing to do the cat jumped out of his arms and ran around playing with plants and leaves. No dangerous animals lurked in the small grove of trees so Gaara decided he would leave her be. Instead he walked to the sand where the land met the small lake and waterfall. The sound calmed him but still not enough, after sitting for a few minutes he decided to get to the edge of the water. He ran his fingers in to the lukewarm water and decided he would go in. Gaara was never taught to swim and he never learned himself, but the water was shallow enough near the edges. Without changing he went straight into the water. His feet hit the soft soggy bottom, and he stumbled a bit, he grabbed the cool damp earth and was luckily able to keep his balance. Slowly he sank lower and lower into the warm water and when it reached his neck he stopped and tried to relax. His mind wandered to a different place and a different time.

'You are thinking of her again.' Shukaku grumbled.

"Am not," Gaara insisted, closing his eyes.

'Are you forgetting that I am in your head that every thought is mine to see?' Shukaku asked.

"So what if I am, not like it's any of your business." Gaara said, his eyes remaining closed.

'Why don't you just go and claim her, it would make things a lot less hard.' Shukaku said.

"Claim her as what?" Gaara asked.

'Your mate, or wife like you humans call them.' Shukaku replied annoyed.

"I don't like Hinata like that," Gaara said sounding resolute. "She's a good friend."

'You may have convinced yourself that but not me,' Shukaku said. 'I know you love her and are simply to afraid of rejection.'

This time Gaara remained silent and instead floated in the warm water.

Hinata slowly walked through the forest, her body weary and feet sore but still unable to fall asleep. She found a lake and sat at the edge dipping her toes into the icy black water. She shivered but continued to lower her pale legs into the water. However it seemed to unsettle her, she kicked her legs back and forth creating a small current and with every passing minute it her legs moved faster and faster.

The water used to soothe her, make her comfortable to the point where she could stay in it for hours but right now he seemed to do the exact opposite. She sighed in frustration, pulled her legs out of the water and began to pace. The banks were soft and sandy and soon Hinata found herself slowing down. She got onto her knees and let her fingertips run through the grainy substance. With a sigh she fell over onto her back and closed her eyes. The sand beneath her cradled her to sleep.

"Hinata-sama!" a frantic voice said trying to arouse her from sleep.

Slowly the Hyuuga heiress opened her eyes to see a frantic servant above her shaking her awake.

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay Hinata-sama!?" they cried as Hinata sat up. "Did someone attack you!? Were you raped!?"

"What!" Hinata cried now fully awake. "No nothing happened to me, I just took a walk last night and fell asleep here."

"Oh thank goodness!" the maid said before ushering Hinata up. "Lord Hiashi will be so happy that you are okay!"

Before Hinata could register what was happening she was being ushered home by the maid. The door slammed open and Hinata was all but shoved into the house. She stumbled and crashed into her cousin.

"Oh there you are Hinata-sama, we all thought you might have gone back to Suna," Neji teased.

Hinata blushed but was pulled away from her cousin by her younger sister.

"Hinata-nee you need to see otou-san, here drink this it should calm you!" she said shoving a small cup of tea into Hinata's hands but not breaking stride.

The older girl did as she was told and downed the tea as fast as possible while preparing her excuses for her father. In no time at all she was facing her father's door and her sister was no longer grasping her hand taking a deep breath she raised her hand ready to knock when her father's voice stopped her.

"Enter."

Hinata did as she was told and entered the dark study, preparing what she would say to her father.

"I was worried," he began.

"Gomen," she answered him.

"Why did you leave so late last night without telling anyone?" he asked, being more understanding than ever before.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I would take a walk and I didn't want to wake you with something so trivial." Hinata said, bowing her head slightly.

Hiashi nodded before reaching into a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a scroll and held it out to Hinata.

"This came for you this morning, it's a summons from Hokage-sama," her father said as she unrolled it and began reading. "What does it say?"

"I need to go there and learn about my newest mission," Hinata said reading from the scroll.

"So soon?" Hiashi asked a hint of worry in his voice.

"I guess so," Hinata said equally puzzled. "I'll go see her now and then report back to you."

Hiashi nodded as his eldest child disappeared out the door.

Gaara walked back into his village with Yuki tucked safely in his arms. His close dripped on the ground catching stares and anxious glances from bystanders. Whispers spread immediately all on speculation of what happened to the Kazekage. After what seemed like forever he got to the Kazekage tower and pulled open the door making everyone in the frantic office stop and turn. The first brave enough to approach the young man was Kankurou.

"Hey where were you?" Kankurou asked. "There was a meeting this morning that you were supposed to attend, but I had to do it for you!"

"What was it about?" Gaara simply asked, not bothering to apologize to his older brother.

"As usual no respect or gratitude," Kankurou sighed. "It was about the Jounin exams, you've been chosen as one of the kages to hold a scroll."

"Fantastic," Gaara said sarcastically. "Who's participating this year?"

"I don't know," Kankurou shrugged, following his brother into his office. "I wasn't aloud to read it, special Kazekage business."

Gaara sighed and entered his office; he plopped down in his chair and looked at the papers on his desk until one caught his eye.

"Is this the list?" he asked looking at the page.

"Yeah, I think," Kankurou, said. "You can still refuse being a judge."

Gaara's eyes ran down the list quickly and stopped on one name. A smile broke onto his usual stoic face and he looked up at his brother.

"No," Gaara started. "I'll do it."



Hinata raced to the Hokage tower, her mind mulling over the many possibilities of what her newest mission would be.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" a loud cheery voice called surprising the young Hyuuga.

Her foot slipped from the roof and she fell towards the ground, but instead of falling she was caught.

"Are you okay Hinata-chan?" the voice asked, overly concerned.

"I'm fine, thank you Naruto-kun," she said sweetly, getting back onto her own feet. "You just surprised me."

"Oh," Naruto said a little abashed. "Where are you headed?" he asked as they resumed jumping on the rooftops.

"The Hokage tower," Hinata answered not breaking stride with Naruto.

"Really me to! Something about a new mission right?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod in return. "Cool we might be on the same team!"

Hinata giggled at the blonde's excitement, as they reached the Hokage tower. He held open the door as Hinata walked in muttering a thank you. They were silent as they walked down the hall, a thought hit Hinata and she groaned.

"Are you okay Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked worried.

"Yes but I just remembered something I forgot," she said as they stopped in front of the Hokage's door.

"What did you forget?" Naruto asked beginning to open the door.

"To tell Tsunade-sama about my mission," she said weakly as the door opened all the way.

"HINATA HYUUGA WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU YESTERDAY!" the Hokage screamed, making the girl flinch.

"Gomen!" she cried. "I was visiting my family and it kind of slipped my mind!"

"I'll show you a slip of the mind!" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles threateningly.

"Tsunade-sama please!" Shizune cried, trying to sedate her superior. "I'll buy you Sake!"

"Really?" Tsunade brightened. "Well okay then, Hinata get in here, and where is Naruto! He's almost as bad as Kakashi when it comes to be on time."

"I am not oba-chan!" Naruto cried, entering after Hinata.

"Oh there you are!" Tsunade seemed surprised. "And do not call me Oba-chan!"

"Shino-kun, you're here to? Shikamaru-san, Sakura-san?" Hinata asked curios.

"It seems as if we'll all be on the same mission," Sakura said, forcing a smile.

"Yes that's absolutely right," Tsunade said. "This mission is special and you have a month to prepare for it."

"Oh no," Shikamaru groaned. "This is what I think it is!"

"That's right!" Tsunade said grinning.

"What is it Shikamaru-san?" Hinata asked.

"The Jounin exams." Shikamaru concluded.



"I want to lead Hinata's team!" Anko argued.

"No way! You'll spill all about the bet!" Genma countered slamming his hand on the

table they were sitting at.

"Whoa! You two need to calm down!" Ayame said balancing the glasses and plates.

"I'll lead their team!" Natsu said, food particles flying out of her over stuffed mouth.

The other three Jounin stared at her, disgust evident on their faces, before totally disregarding her and going back to arguing.

"I say I do it!" Anko cried.

"I say I do it!" Genma piped in.

"No I'll do it!" Ayame shouted joining in the shouting match.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Neji Hyuuga asked as he approached the table.

"Who's going to lead your cousins team!" all four said at once.

"Well that answers quite obvious," he said, looking at them as if they were two. "I will."

Another shouting match erupted between the five Jounin's.

"Why don't we do eeney meeny minny moe?" Natsu suggested.

"No that's stupid!" they all cried before going back to their argument.

"Hey!" Ayame tried to call over the roar. "Hey! HEY!" Ayame screamed.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the younger girl. She took a deep breath and pulled out five kunai.

"Here's the deal, I will take this," Ayame said holding up a roll of medical tape and tape all of them except one. Who ever picks the one without the tape gets to lead Hinata's team.

Everyone nodded and Ayame shuffled the kunai around and then held them out in both her hands. Quickly everyone grabbed one and then they all waited for the moment of truth. Genma opened is hand first and revealed a taped Kunai. Anko's eyes glowed in pride, but dulled immediately as the white tape became visible. Neji dropped his on the table showing white tape on his also. Ayame smiled triumphantly and opened her hand only to look at it disbelievingly as a white tipped kunai appeared from her hand.

"Looks like I win!" Natsu said, spinning the untapped kunai.

**A/N: I wrote another story and I need a title for it, so if you would like to help and read a brief summary of it please let me know so I can get it to you! Review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hey guys. I realized I have confused so many of you and I apologize. But I would like you all to consider a few things. **

**1.I was planning to end this story after chapter 25 but continued it due to excessive begging so most of these ideas are from the top of my head**

**2.I have NO BETA READER, and I don't reread anything so I can get the chapters out to you as fast as possible. **

**3.I am a freshman in high school and in two honors or AP classes; basically that equals a lot of extra homework.**

**However I would like to thank you all for your continual support and if you were wondering I got rid of Healing sands 2 and just added the chapters here. **

**Chapter: 29**

Hinata stretched as Shikamaru dusted off his clothes. They stood across from each other in the training grounds.

"That was a great training session Shikamaru-san," Hinata said earning a shrug from the young Nara. "Would you like to spar again?"

"No thank you, Hinata-san." Shikamaru said smirking. "You may have the stamina of an animal but I still have that of a normal human."

The Hyuuga blushed and was about to say something when a loud voice broke the silence between the other two things.

"That was awesome Shino!" Naruto cried, as him and the bug master approached the other two ninjas.

The blonde continued to blabber as Shino gave his acknowledgement to the other two teens. Naruto slowly fell silent and all four stood in awkward silence.

"Hey guys!" a peppy voice said relieving all of them.

"Oh hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried waving her over, while the others nodded.

"Sorry Tsunade-sama had me working on some paperwork she was too lazy to do herself," Sakura said, a little annoyed.

"That's ok," Hinata said. "We already worked out a training schedule."

"Awesome!" Sakura "So what is it?" Sakura asked.

Hinata opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off by a high pitched scream.

"Leave me alone Ayame-chan!" Natsu cried as she ran by, paying no attention to the stunned ninjas.

"Please just switch with me Natsu-chan!" Ayame cried chasing after the other girl.

"What was…" Naruto began but was immediately cut off as a kunai came flying towards them.

He hit the deck just in time and the kunai landed with a loud thud in a tree where Natsu's shirt got caught. Anko followed her kunai and rushed over to the struggling young woman.

"Naaaaattttttsuuuuuuuuuu-cccchhhhhaaaaannnn," Anko said smoothly. "If you trade with me I'll give you a prize."

"Prize?" both Natsu and Ayame said in unison pausing in their actions.

"That's right a prize," Anko said nodding.

"What is it?" Natsu asked, her eyes shinning like a child's on Christmas.

"The prize is…" Anko said, reaching into her coat. "CANDY!"

"EWWWW!" Natsu cried making Anko sweat drop. "I hate candy!"

Suddenly there was a blur and the screaming Natsu was silent and gone. The two older ninja's glanced around but stopped when they caught sight of Genma holding Natsu bridal style.

"Quickly Natsu!" Genma started catching the younger girls attention. "The village is going to blow up if you don't Jounin teams with me, run in a circle and go get me some senbon!"

"Senpai!" Natsu said her eyes glowing with emotion. "I'm not that stupid." She finished getting onto her own two feet.

Meanwhile the five chunin continued to watch in stunned silence when a small rustle sounded from the bush nearest to Hinata. Shino glanced at her along with Shikamaru who nodded to her. Hinata slowly activated her Byakugan but was surprised with what she saw.

"Ni-san!" she gasped as Neji appeared from the bush one hand behind his back.

"Hello Hinata-sama," Neji said nodding, but not looking at her.

"Why are you here, does otou-san need me?" Hinata asked.

"No, no I am not here to talk with you but with her," he said pointing a long finger at Natsu who stood in the middle of the group of arguing Jounin.

Without further interruptions Neji walked away from his younger cousin over to the group and pulled Natsu out.

"Arigotou, Neji-san!" Natsu said brushing off imaginary dust from her clothes. "I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come to my rescue. How can I ever thank you?"

"Well…" Neji began but was cut off by Natsu's playful chuckle.

"I know you wouldn't take anything your to much of a gentleman!" she said smiling at the crestfallen Neji.

The Hyuuga cleared his throat and got on one knee in front of Natsu, not only catching the girls attention but everyone else's as well.

"Natsu…chan, I um, I…" Neji stumbled casting sidelong glances at his frail cousin who seemed to stunned to look straight. "I uh…I LOVE YOU!" he forced the last part out while thrusting a bouquet of flowers at her face.

Hinata blinked twice before fainting, as if someone just proposed to her. Shikamaru and Shino quickly snapped into action and both grabbed an arm to hold her up. Naruto and Sakura stood stunned as they continued to watch.

"Neji-san…you love me?" Natsu said, a faint blush painting her cheeks.

The young man nodded eyes still closed tight and bouquet held high. Silence fell over the group and it seemed as if no one breathed. Slowly Neji opened his eyes and looked up to see Natsu beaming at him.

"N…Natsu-chan?" he practically squeaked seconds before she glomped him.

"I accept!" she cried, her arms wrapped around the young man's neck. "Wait a second…" she said an arm still wrapped tightly around Neji's while she put a finger to her chin. "That's means I'm getting married! Come on you have to meet my parents!" Natsu said dragging a choking Neji behind.

"Did that…"Ayame began stunned.

"Yeah." Genma replied, as equally surprised.

"And so now…" Anko trailed off.

"Yup," the other two said in unison.

They all looked at each other before dashing off screaming obscenities at Neji.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"I have no clue." Sakura said. "Hey Hinata," she said turning around to see the two boys trying to revive the poor unconscious girl.

"HINATA!" Naruto cried running over to the slowly reviving girl.

Hinata's pearl eyes opened and the first thing that came in her sight was a bright crop of golden hair. She was pushed onto her feet and she wobbled slightly.

"That was such a strange dream," Hinata murmured.

"Uh it wasn't a dream, Hinata-san," Sakura said.

The Hyuuga swayed again but was caught by Shino and brought back to reality by Shikamaru. After she was fully conscious again they offered to end training for today.

"I think we all should go home," Shino said.

"Yeah, I'm beat, Tsunade-sama tired me out." Sakura said yawning.

"Okay," Shikamaru said looking at the sky. "I have to be somewhere in a few minutes anyway.

"Hey Hinata," Naruto said bouncing up and down and approaching the shy Hyuuga girl.

"I can walk you home, if you want."

Hinata looked at the blonde and her eyes softened but she gave her long time crush a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, but I was going to go with Shikamaru." Hinata said, pointing at the awaiting Nara.

"Oh," Naruto said sadly.

"But," Hinata said quickly trying to prevent the sad look on the blondes face. "I'll meet you here tomorrow and we can start training before everyone else comes."

Naruto smiled and nodded before she slowly backed up before dashing towards Shikamaru.

"Do you think we're to late?" Hinata said frantically.

"I don't know we might," Shikamaru said picking up the pace.

The sun sunk lower and lower over the horizon and both Shikamaru and Hinata continued to speed up until they were full out sprinting. They both reached the gate to Konoha breathless and anxious.

"There you guys are! I thought you would guys would miss me." An obnoxious voice called from far ahead.

"Gomen," Shikamaru gasped out.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world Temari-chan!" Hinata panted.

"Of course, why should I doubt you two," the blonde said approaching them.

"So you're leaving tonight?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, are you going to miss me?" Temari teased.

"Not a chance," Shikamaru replied without missing a beat.

The two ninja's stared at each other waiting for the other to lose, but both where broken away by the soft voice coming from there other companion.

"Temari-chan," Hinata said reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a sealed letter.

"Could you please give this letter to Gaara, it's about our…..uh cats!" Hinata squeaked her face turning the classic tomato red.

"Temari-san you've got to go!" a Jounin called from the gate entrance.

"Hai, I'm coming," Temari said turning around and heading to the gate.

"Wait Temari-chan!" Hinata said running after her. "The letter!"

"Oh right Hinata-chan!" Temari said grasping the letter between two of her fingers.

The two ninja's watched as Temari ran out of the gates and they shut with a definite thud.

"You don't have to be strong holding in your emotions is not good for your health." Shikamaru said, glancing towards Hinata as they continued walking on their way back to their respective homes. "I see it in your eyes you want to yell, you want to scream and cry. If you do why don't you just do it. It's troublesome to hold in all of your emotions."

"But that's not the Shinobi way," Hinata said wiping away a few unshed tears.

"Screw the Shinobi way!" Shikamaru said, stopping in front if Hinata. "Emotions are what make us human characterizes us makes us special. I say that if you can't then you're not strong enough to be a Shinobi."

"You're wrong Shikamaru-san," Hinata said.

"No I'm not you're wrong!" Shikamaru said. "Your not an emotionless drone. You were free in Suna and now that you're trapped here you want to become a perfect porcelain doll, but the fact is you can't. The Hyuuga's eyes may be a valuable weapon with the Byakugan but it sucks when hiding your emotions."

Hinata stopped and began to cry, she squatted on the ground and continued to sob and suddenly she was twelve years old all over again. Shikamaru watched as she broke down. Silent and motionless only watching his brown eyes emotionless. The tears slowly came to a stop and Hinata got to her feet before walking away slowly.

"Feel better?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, arigotou." Hinata said sighing.

"Phew!" a loud high-pitched scream came from above them.

Shikamaru and Hinata quickly got into fighting poses as the teenage girl from earlier jumped towards them.

"Hey I'm Natsu," she said. "And I'm glad I'm not stuck with some emotionless jerks, because we're stuck with each other for the Jounin exams!"

----Page Break---

Temari continued to run down the path anxious to get home and make sure her brothers were still alive. What she didn't notice however was the letter Hinata gave her fell from her pack and on to the ground. A cloaked figure emerged from the foliage and picked up the letter from the path before pocketing it and disappearing once again.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! But please read and review!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Hey guys sorry it took so long to update but here it is and I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything….**

**Chapter 30:**

Gaara slid his kage robes on, slightly fighting with the thin white fabric. They remained tangled around his waist and arms as his frustration grew. A knock at his door sent him over the edge and his anger bubbled to the surface. He stormed to the door not even noticing that the robes had righted themselves, and he wrenched the door open with such a force that it slammed against the opposite wall. He was surprised to see two exhausted grey eyes search him.

"Temari?" Gaara asked, to stunned for words.

"Yeah, are you going to let me in?" she asked as her brother took a step back.

"How was your journey?" Gaara continued, going over to his full body mirror trying to adjust his Kazekage hat.

"Good," Temari answered bemused. "Hinata misses you." She added just to gage his reaction.

"Really?" he asked stoic as ever.

"No," Temari pouted not missing the slight disbelief in his voice.

"That's what I thought." Gaara said trying to balance his hat.

"And why is that?" Temari asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Because Hinata would never be that forward, especially with the male species." Gaara said trying to readjust his hat again.

"I didn't know you were that smart," Temari teased. "There was a letter she wanted me to give you but I kind of lost it on the way here."

"You what?" Gaara asked trying to remain calm as his hat fell of his head.

"I lost it, but no worries right?" Temari said walking towards her baby brother. "She'll be taking the Jounin exam and she'll be able to talk to you in person."

"You really are troublesome," Gaara said giving up on his hat.

"I missed you to." Temari said fondly taking the hat and securing Gaara's it on his head.

----Page Break---

Hinata stood wringing her hands anxious as she waited for her team to gather at the gates. She looked anxiously in the direction of the horizon, then back over her shoulder as if expecting to see her teammates coming.

"You're an hour early," a cool voice observed.

Hinata's head snapped up and she was face to face with a young man no older then her.

"H-hai!" she stuttered disliking the young mans intense stare.

There was something familiar about him that Hinata couldn't put her finger on but it wasn't a good thing.

"Hey what are you doing?" a loud obnoxious voice called over to them.

"Nothing," the young man in front of her insisted.

"Well then we should go," the other piped in again. "Sensei will kill us if we're late for the meeting

"You're a Hyuuga," the boy in front of her said instead of paying his ally any sort of attention.

"Hai," she said meekly not being able to look away.

"Hyuuga Hinata?" he asked, his voice getting higher in curiosity.

"Hai," Hinata said slowly, being more and more frightened.

"Come on let's go!!!!" his companion shouted pulling his teammate away.

As the Hyuuga faded from his sight he pulled a letter from his pocket and reread the name at the bottom. _Hyuuga Hinata._ He folded the letter and pocketed it again.

----Page Break---

Hinata watched them leave and shuddered. Slowly she began to pace gathering speed every time she turned.

"Wow you walk fast!" a high-pitched voice said making Hinata freeze.

She looked up and came face to face with Natsu, she sighed in relief and continued to pace.

"Nervous?" Natsu asked.

"Hai," Hinata said not breaking her pace.

"You should be, the Jounin exams are sssccccaaarrrryyyy!" Natsu said.

"I'm not nervous about that," Hinata blurted.

"Ooooooh! Hinata-chan has a secret!" Natsu said poking the Hyuuga in the side.

"Onegai don't poke me Natsu-san." Hinata said backing away from the hyperactive Jounin.

"Why?" Natsu said poking her and hearing a little gasp.

"B-because!" Hinata said moving away again.

"You're ticklish aren't you Hinata-chan?" Natsu asked, grinning like a fox.

"Onegai, don't Natsu-san!" Hinata said.

The Jounin paid no mind and tickled her continually while Hinata laughed. The battle raged for a long time and Hinata was about to give up when in her futile attempt to escape made her bump into someone who rescued her.

"What are you doing to poor Hinata, Natsu-chan?" Naruto asked shielding Hinata from the Jounin's waiting fingers.

"Just tickling her," Natsu said.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "You're ticklish Hinata-chan?" he turned and faced the white eyed girl.

"H-hai." Hinata sighed trying to regain control over her laughter.

Naruto looked at Natsu and they both nodded to each other before advancing toward Hinata.

"Stop screwing around!" Shikamaru said, grabbing Hinata and pushing her towards Shino before confronting the two other ninja. "This is serious!"

"Arigotou Shino-kun," Hinata said looking up at her teammate who only nodded.

"Boy am I proud to see my future Jounin's up and ready so early!" Tsunade said, Shizune and Sakura following after their superior.

"Now that my teams already here…" Natsu paused and gaped.

They all looked around and gaped as a huge crowed of ninja ran for the gate.

"Take cover!" Natsu yelled as she jumped for the trees.

They all followed before the entrance was swarming with Participants with the Jounin exam. Tsunade strode over to the gate purposefully, stopping in front of it and raising up her full height.

"Welcome to Konoha all participants and special guests! Please file in politely and orderly. Feel free to roam about our lovely village. Thank you, and good luck!" Tsunade belted out the premeditated speech so everyone could hear.

She then nodded at the crowd, and walked away, heaving a sigh of relief. Shizune followed soon after, making faster strides to catch up. After the two were no longer in site, the crowd began to cram inside. As the group continued to watch, Hinata's eyes widened as she saw the one person she didn't think she was ever going to see again. The Fifth Kazekage slowly and calmly walked at the back of the crowd, escorted by his siblings and a select number of Sand Jounin.

"What Hinata-chan?" Natsu asked the shocked Hyuuga.

"Huh-oh…nothing…." Hinata answered turning a small shade of red. "I'll be right back." She said before leaping from the tree straight into the crowed.

She pushed through the crowed, her mouth moving mechanically as she apologized and tried to excuse herself in the same soft fashion that was no longer uncommon with the white eyed Kunoichi.

"Where's Hinata-san going?" Sakura asked.

Natsu grinned before jumping next to the pinkette and pointed the blue tipped hat of the Kazekage and giggled. Sakura stood there in shock for a few minutes before leaping into the crowed herself. The group sat and watched the new scene unfolding in front of them. The usually shy claustrophobic Kunoichi jumping into the crowed to greet her friends from the sand village, and what about Sakura? Hinata clasped her hands in excitement as the crowd started to grow smaller and smaller, until only very few people were left. As the remaining portions of the crowd entered the gate, the small group of Sand Nin emerged, and Temari gasped excitedly and ran over to Hinata, greeting her.

"Konichiwa Temari-chan!" Hinata cried melting into the older girls proffered hug. "How are you?"

"Hello Hinata-chan! I am fine, and you?" Temari answered, exuberant to see her friend.

"Great!" Hinata answered, her eyes catching sight of the bright-headed Kazekage.

Hinata chatted with her for a few more seconds before making her way to Gaara. The Jounin's were able to recognize her and let her speak with their leader.

"Konichiwa Kazekage-sama, and how are you?" She greeted as she bowed.

Gaara stared at her for a minute, never breaking eye contact. They both knew that the other would have to have a formal greeting, so without wasting another moment Gaara stood straight.

"Konichiwa Hyuuga-san," he said nodding to her. "I am doing well, as I hope you are as well?"

"Hai," Hinata nodded.

The Hyuuga's mouth opened once more, her eyes giving her away to her next statement. But before even another breath could pass her lips she was cut off by Sakura's sugary sweet voice.

"Konichiwa Kazekage-sama," the girl said, bowing just as Hinata had.

Gaara looked at her for a moment in confusion before recognizing her and greeting her.

Hinata's mind raced as she thought of what to say as another silence fell around them.

"So why are you here Kazekage-sama?" Hinata questioned.

Gaara cleared his throat, "I am one of the judges for the Jounin exams."

"Really?" Hinata asked excitedly, but quickly reprimanding herself for the sudden outburst.

The redhead nodded, before his attention was drawn back to the medical Kunoichi.

"If you could please excuse us," Sakura said addressing everyone. "The Kazekage and I have some private business to talk about, Tsunade-sama's orders."

Everyone nodded except for Hinata who looked as if she had been slapped in the face. Kankurou quickly came to her rescue by draping an arm across her shoulders. The white eyed girl looked up at him and smiled, as her other teammates dropped from the branches.

"Hey Shikamaru," Temari said walking up to the laziest one in the group.

"Uh oh," Shikamaru said grinning.

"I'm hungry, would you mind taking me to lunch?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru leaned over Temari making the blondes breath catch and he quickly placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"Of course." And with that the couple was gone.

"Well that's no fun!" Natsu said, huffing. "I wanted you guys to warm up before tonight!"

"Tonight?" Naruto asked.

"Yup that's when the exams start!" Natsu said.

"Then why tell us to wake up so damn early!" Naruto whined.

"Because!" Natsu said. "The first test in the Jounin exam is the race!"

"Race?" they all asked.

"Yeah, from here to water country!" Natsu said.

---Page break---

The Fifth Hokage, followed by her assistant, entered the Hokage tower, as she rubbed her temples.

"This is going to be even worse. More paperwork…" Tsunade trailed off as she thought about the exams coming up.

Shizune rolled her eyes. More paperwork meant more work for her. She watched as the Hokage sighed in annoyance. The Hokage entered her office where the other Kages all waited except for one.

"Looks like we'll be waiting on that young man again!" the Raikage complained.

"Oh deal with it you crotchety old fart!" Tsunade cried. "Now shut up and have a drink!" she said shoving a sake cup at him.

---Page Break---

"Who was that girl earlier, Akihiko?" the boy asked his companion.

"Hyuuga Hinata," Akihiko answered.

"You mean the girl who wrote that letter you refuse to show me?" the other boy asked.

"Hai," Akihiko answered.

"Awww come on! Just show me the stupid secret letter!" the boy cried.

"Now now Ryota, it wouldn't be secret if I did that now would it?" the Akihiko asked smugly.

Ryota cried aloud before storming away from his sly teammate. When Akihiko was sure he was gone he pulled out the Hyuuga's letter and opened it.

_Dear Gaara-kun,_

_It has only been a few weeks and I already miss the dry sands of Suna. You have no idea how I long to go back. Imagine it._

_Everyday I would wake up and be able to see my best friends Kankurou and Temari. Train with Matsuri and explore your culture even more. _

_I have also missed you. I have grown to care deeply for you. You are a great friend and I was hoping that we might be able to arrange a deal with Hokage-sama. Maybe I can go to Suna for a few months then return home. However if this will inconvenience you in anyway you do not have to agree. If you could please meet up with me on the day the Jounin exams begin at the Hokage monument at dusk I will know that I do not bother you too much and you're willing to let me stay with you a little longer. However if you do not come I understand and will trouble you no longer. _

_Your Friend,_

_Hinata Hyuuga _

**A/N: uh oh! Gaara doesn't have the letter so he wont be able to meet her! What's going to happen between them now!? REVIEW! Please, ideas and constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Yeah so I'm trying to get as many chapters as I can done. So here's another one for you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter: 31 **

The golden sun sank lower and lower over the horizon. The white-eyed teen stared mesmerized at the golden disk. Her eyes were drawn to the center of Konoha before flicking back to the horizon. She had been here for over an hour waiting for the Kazekage but he still had not come.

"Maybe his meeting is running a little late." Hinata offered herself.

But as the sun sunk lower and lower her doubt grew and grew. When the sun was gone and the cold air of night swept over her Hinata couldn't help the tears that were brought to her eyes. Her body was wracked with chills as the moon slowly rose and her hopes fell and fell. Suddenly she heard shoes scraping up the path to the top of the monument. A flash of red and her eyes were glued to the path. Slowly someone appeared on the path and Hinata gasped.

"Gaara-kun?" Hinata gasped.

---Page break---

Temari nervously looked toward Shikamaru as they continued their walk. The slightly taller young man didn't seem to be at all nervous. The blonde gulped loudly finally drawing the young mans attention.

"Is there something wrong Temari?" Shikamaru asked.

The blonde quickly shook her head and silence fell over them once more. She looked at him again but this time she was caught.

"Now I know something's wrong, you're quiet and you keep staring at me." Shikamaru said.

"Nothings wrong." Temari insisted.

"Don't lie to me." Shikamaru sighed. "I know when you're lying."

"I'm not lying!" She continued to say.

"Alright fine," Shikamaru said looking as if he was going to leave.

"Wait!" Temari cried stopping hi?" Shikamaru asked.

"No!" Temari cried. "Lets just walk,, please!"

Shikamaru smiled and nodded before they continued to walk. Their arms swung at their side's hands accidentally hitting the others.

"Sorry," Temari said as there hands fell together.

However instead of letting her hand drop back to her side Shikamaru held it and continued to walk as if nothing was happening. Temari's heart raced but she remained calm on the outside.

---Page break---

Hinata looked up with tears in her eyes her hopes skyrocketed but sunk as she saw an unfamiliar red headed girl walk up the path people talking loudly behind her. Their eyes met but Hinata quickly looked away and she could no longer contain her tears and they flowed freely down her face.

"Hey guys!" the red headed girl called behind her.

"What Kasu-chan?" one called up.

"You should probably head back! Collect supplies and meet me at the training grounds!" the red head shouted back.

With that the footsteps faded and Hinata thought she was left alone again. Her legs crumpled beneath her, the tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Hey what's wrong?" a kind voice asked.

Hinata's head shot up and she made eye contact with the red headed girl for the first time. Her hair was straight and fell around her narrow face, down past her shoulders but not as long as Hinata's. Two deep blue eyes stared intensely at her white ones and she couldn't help but notice a tiny scar underneath the girls left eye. The Hyuuga felt ashamed of her tears and looked away as her hand-tried futilely to make them disappear. Instead of abandoning her, the red head took a seat next to her and waited for a few minutes before speaking again.

"My name is Kasumi Hikoroshi, who are you?" Kasumi asked.

Hinata simply stared at her hands clasped in her lap and avoided the other girls eyes.

"Are you taking the Jounin exams?" Kasumi asked begging for conversation.

Hinata only nodded, the red head sighed, grabbing Hinata's attention for a few minutes.

"Look, I know that you usually want to keep emotional moments to yourself but," the other girl tried one last time. "It will help if you talk about it."

The Hyuuga stared at the girl for a few moments before bursting into tears again. Kasumi wrapped her arm around Hinata's shoulders and let the girl sob. Through her tears Hinata was able to retell the tale of what had happened, and the Kasumi sat and listened.

"Wow what a jerk!" Kasumi said angrily.

"D-don't be so h-hard on him," Hinata sniffed.

"And why not!" Kasumi insisted. "He stood you up!"

"Yes, demo, he might just have been nicer because Temari was my friend," Hinata said quietly.

"No! There is no way that's excusable!" Kasumi said standing up.

Hinata also got to her feet and laid her hand on Kasumi's arm.

"There is no need for that! I know when I'm not wanted." Hinata said.

"Well I say good riddance then!" Kasumi cried. "You deserve someone better!"

Hinata looked at the girl, her face slightly red, but still she was mesmerized by the other girl's conviction.

"Oh Hinata-san!" Kasumi said, her eyes suddenly shining. "Maybe you'll marry a prince!"

The Hyuuga couldn't contain her giggles and they erupted from her, feeling unfamiliar to her since her constant tears.

"Hey, are you laughing at me?" Kasumi pouted. "I was serious."

"You're funny, Kasumi-san!" Hinata said sadly.

"No! Can't you just see it?" Kasumi said, grabbing both of Hinata's hands and sweeping her into a clumsy waltz.

They both could no longer hold in their laughter and their voices bounced of the rock formation they were on. Finally they both fell away from each other in order to contain they're laughter.

"Feeling better Hinata-san?" Kasumi asked.

"Hai," Hinata gasped.

"Well it seems that the Jounin exams will only be in a few more hours." Kasumi said looking out onto the quiet village below.

"Hai." Hinata said returning to her more solemn demeanor.

"Would you like to walk with me to the training grounds?" Kasumi asked, grinning sheepishly.

Hinata giggled and nodded before sprinting down the path, Kasumi following soon after.

---Page Break---

Gaara walked around Konoha, the Hokage's pink haired student his guide. However his aqua eyes searched for something else that was proving much harder to find then expected.

"Kazekage-sama?" Sakura asked, trying to catch the young mans attention.

"Hmm?" the red head asked, his gaze focused somewhere else.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura asked, wishing for more then a few words.

The Kazekage simply nodded this time and the pinkette sighed in defeat. Gaara was to distracted to notice the three girls coming their way. A small eep was heard as a girl ran into Gaara. The red head glanced down and saw the top of a smaller girls head. She backed up and looked up at the Kazekage cheeks a flame in embarrassment and her green eyes wide as a deer in the headlights. Her sandy brown hair hanging down her back in a loose ponytail.

"Gomen," her soft voice filled Gaara's head, reminding him of another soft-spoken girl.

"Rikku!" another girl called from the group that just walked past them.

"Hai!" the girl answered quickly and nervously.

Another bow to Gaara and she was gone along with the other two girls. Sakura tsked in a motherly fashion before continuing to lead the young man in the direction of food. Gaara still kept his eyes peeled for the white-eyed girl he was searching for. Finally his face lit up when he caught sight of the indigo haired Hyuuga walking with another red head. Passing Sakura without so much as a glance the teen b lined it towards the two girls.

"Hello Hyuuga-san," the Kazekage said, a flicker of emotion running across his face.

Hinata and Kasumi's smiles faded as they caught sight of the leader of the sand.

Clearing her throat Hinata prepared to speak.

"Hello Kazekage," she said stoic and blank.

Gaara couldn't help nor stop the shock that flitted over his face but was able to recompose his solemn mask.

"C'mon Hinata-chan," Kasumi quickly made an excuse. "Come meet the rest of my team."

The two girls drifted away and Gaara felt insatiable anger rise within.

"Lets continue, shall we?" Sakura asked holding the door open to a restaurant.

Gaara only growled as he was drawn away from Hinata.

---Page Break---

Everyone had gathered at the center of Konoha, eagerly waiting for the Jounin exams to begin. Shikamaru and Temari made it at the same time as the rest of the rookie nine team.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto called waving, standing next to Natsu and Shino.

The brown eyes boy released Temari's hand and made his way over to his other teammates.

"Hey, where's Sakura and Hinata?" he asked, scanning the crowed for the two girls.

"Being the apprentice of the Hokage she has to wait and then she'll come," Natsu explained. "Demo I don't know where Hinata-chan is."

"If she doesn't hurry we're never going to make it!" Naruto whined.

"Don't worry," Shino interjected. "She'll be here."

Just as the words came out of the Aburame's mouth the indigo haired girl appeared next to them a little out of breath but no more worse for wear.

"Gomen, I'm late!" Hinata breathed.

"It's okay Hinata-chan," Natsu reassured. "As long as you made it on time."

Just then the whole crowed was silenced as the Kages walked onto the large platform in the middle of the crowed. After the Kages another line of people followed them onto the stage, following Tsunade was of course Sakura and Shizune but there was also someone following behind Gaara. Hinata strained her eyes, preserving her chakra by not activating the Byakugan, and caught a semi clear glance of his pupil. Giving up she activated her Byakugan and gasped when she saw the face clearly.

"Matsuri-chan!" Hinata gasped, her Byakugan fading.

Her teammates all gave her curious looks before their attention was drawn back to the stage as the Hokage began to speak.

"Welcome to our humble village!" she greeted warmly. "Are you all ready to begin the Jounin exams?"

The Hokage received thunderous applause and some cheers from this and even though she wanted to bask in the admiration but she was brought back to reality by the Raikage who cleared his throat.

"Right! So as with all tests there are a few rules." Tsunade announced receiving groans this time. "Rule number one! There will be no cheating at all, because if I find out that you cheated I will kill you. Second rule there will be no FIGHTING, if it can be avoided, if you want to kill each other wait until the second round. Rule three, obey your Jounin instructors they're there for a reason. Fourth and final rule, make it to the mist village in the time allotted, because if you don't I don't know what will happen to you."

Whispers rushed through the crowed like wind but quickly died and silence fell over the once eager crowed. The Kazekage then stepped up; his cool eyes ran over the crowed before he opened his mouth to speak.

"You have two and a half days to make it to the hidden mist, anyone who arrives there even a minute late will be disqualified." Gaara stated. "Everyone, Onegai make your way to the gates."

Everyone pushed and shoved past each other before they soon made it to the gate where they awaited instruction. The wide gates were pulled open and the teams lined up in the front. Hinata stood behind Naruto and wiggled a bit, feeling claustrophobic.

"Begin!" the Raikages voice boomed.

All the teams rocketed off into the forest except for Natsu's. The female Jounin held her arms out wide to prevent her team from racing ahead.

"Natsu-san!" they cried.

"Why aren't you letting us go?" Naruto asked.

"This is a race! Remember!?" Shikamaru cried aggravated.

"Yes I remember." Natsu said letting her arms drop to her sides.

"Then why haven't we started yet Natsu-san?" Sakura asked. "If it was to wait for me I would have caught up!"

"No, it wasn't because of you." Natsu said.

"Then why Natsu-san?" Hinata asked.

"That," the girl replied pointing outside the gate.

The teens approached the gate and peered out side and gasped. Everyone who ran out first was now caught in a trap, some hanging from trees others in pits but all of them screaming for help.

"See?" Natsu asked. "Patience is definitely a virtue."

And with that their team headed out to begin the Jounin exam.

**A/N: YAY second chapter of this week! Plenty more where that came from, I'm on break now! **


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Okay so here's the next chapter. I had a minor case of writers block but now it's all taken care of. If it sucks I'm sorry, I'm trying my best!**

**Disclaimer: blah blah blah **

**Chapter: 32 **

It had only been an hour since they started the exams and already the fatigue was starting to settle in. Naruto and Hinata being the only exception of course were slightly ahead of the group and still capable of doing the constant speed they were at now.

"Naruto, you're going to fast!" Sakura growled. 

"Yeah guys," Natsu said, also slightly tired. "We have to make it in two and a half days, we don't have to be first!"

Hinata slowed up and bit but Naruto kept on running, even after the numerous threats from Sakura. 

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said seductively, coming up with a new plan. "If you slow down I'll go on a date with you."

In yet still Naruto ignored her. Sakura was furious, she sped up and punched Naruto in the back of the head finally making the blonde stop. The group caught up to the other two teens just as Sakura landed another punch to Naruto's gut. Both teens continued their small battle, Sakura coming out on top.

"I said we could slow down." Natsu sighed. "Not stop."

But their Jounin instructor's words did not reach them. So the two continued to argue and argue, Hinata couldn't stand watching them anymore. 

"Will you both quit!" she cried, quickly covering her mouth after her random outburst.

Everyone stood in a stunned silence, staring at the indigo haired girl whose face reddened as each second passed by. 

"G-gomen," Hinata said.

"No Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "Your right, we have to cover our lost ground."

The Hyuuga nodded and smiled appreciatively; glad her bad mood was disguised as concern for her ninja career. Honestly she couldn't care less about the exams she was still upset about being stood up. They were soon on there way again, and Hinata's thoughts went somewhere else. 

---page break---

"Are you comfortable Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara swore that if he heard those words one more time he was going to kill someone. 

"Is there anything I can get you?"

Another set of words that made the red head go crazy. Gaara had never particularly liked being Kazekage but he had learned how to deal with it. However this was just too much. Not only was he going to be stuck in a carriage for two and a half days with his siblings he would also be with the Raikage and a billion of his pesky female servants that didn't want to leave him alone. The worst part being, however, was the fact that he couldn't understand why Hinata had grown so distant from him in a matter of hours. 

He peeked from underneath his hat and caught a glimpse at Temari. She sat, looking out the window with a dreamy look on her face and she would sigh every few minutes. Kankurou who was sitting next to him said it was because she was in love with Shikamaru. Gaara refused to hear anything else after that. But now as he sat across from his sister the only solution to the female brain, he found himself to try and come up with a way so that her attention and focus would be on him and his problem. His brother beat him to it.

"Hey Temari," Kankurou said catching the blondes attention. "Keep your love sickness to yourself I think we're catching it!"

The blonde looked ready to retort but stopped as Kankurou's words were slowed down, unslured and completely understandable. A grin spread over her lips and Gaara recognized the glint in her cold steely eyes.

"So who do YOU love?" Temari asked, out in the open.

The three siblings glanced at each other before Gaara turned and decided to ignore the questions. Because of this reaction his siblings took the chance to attack him. Temari squeezed between Kankurou and Gaara before draping herself on her younger brother While Kankurou also pressed against him. The three siblings erupted into loud chatter, they heard a loud clear of the throat and they all looked in the general direction of the Raikage. They were silenced for a few moments before erupting into even louder talking that soon turned into to shouts and screams from Temari and Kankurou.

"OUT!" The Raikage cried, making the carriage halt. 

The sand siblings stared at him dumbfounded for a few moments.

"OUT!" the Raikage shouted. "Get out now and walk your sorry butts to water country!"

Temari and Kankurou still stared shocked at the older man, while Gaara welcomed it as sweet relief and opened the door. The Raikage glared at the other two siblings and they both scrambled out. When the door slammed shut, Kankurou and Temari turned to apologize to their brother but found him packing up his kage clothes. 

"Let's move." Gaara said simply before taking the lead.

His siblings shrugged and followed him close behind.

---page break---

"Ow ow ow! " Hinata said softly as Natsu and Sakura pulled at her long indigo locks as they continued to walk. 

"Now isn't that pretty!" Sakura insisted, showing off the half of Hinata's head she did. 

Natsu stared at it a few minutes before gasping and giving Hinata's hair another good yank, making the quiet girl yelp. 

"Sakura-chan I have an idea!" Natsu cried ripping the Hyuuga's hair out. "Go get Shika-kuns hair tie!"

The pinkette nodded and ran up to the unsuspecting Nara before yanking his the rubber band for his head. He groped the back of his head before growling in frustration in yet he did nothing to retrieve it. When Sakura retuned Natsu held Hinata still as she fastened her hair. 

"You guys should stop screwing around!" Naruto cried, waiting for them to catch up.

"Coming!" Hinata called, running ahead of the other two females.

Hinata's dark hair was now put in a braided bun on top of her head, something she was obviously not used to as she kept tilting her head back hoping it would come undone. Shikamaru did a double take when he noticed his hair tie held the ensemble together. He shrugged and continued to walk everyone following shortly after. In another ten minutes they were walking through wind country.

"It has taken us approximately 3 hours to get through fire country." Shino said. "Half of that was sprinted, so if we continue at this pace, including the unfamiliar territory, it should take us around 5 hours maybe 6."

"Well there is someone who is familiar with this territory," Sakura said, her eyes shifting to the side and landing on Hinata.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto cried. "Ok Hinata-chan lead the way!"

The Hyuuga nodded and began to walk. An hour slowly ticked by and everything was going well. Hinata glanced up and stopped immediately as she felt the wind begin to speed up. On the horizon the dirt was blowing and Hinata knew what it meant. 

"We need to stop," Hinata said. 

"What?" Naruto asked.

"We need to stop somewhere, where we can have shelter." Hinata continued, falling to her knees and feeling through the silver sand until she found a small out cropping of rock.

"Why Hinata-chan?" Natsu asked.

"There's a sandstorm coming." Hinata said. "We need to take cover."

Everyone looked towards the horizon and saw the wind bringing up small clumps of sand.

"Hinata-chan, there's not going to be a sandstorm." Natsu said.

"Yes there is," Hinata insisted, lying her pack underneath the rocks.

"No there's not enough sand to create a sandstorm, we should keep going." Natsu insisted.

"Natsu-san, I know this area just as well as any sand ninja. There will be a sandstorm." Hinata said. 

"Whatever!" Natsu sighed. "Whose up for traveling with me through the imaginary sandstorm?"

Everyone glanced between Natsu and Hinata both standing strong with their resolve. Naruto was the first of course to make his decision.

"Gomen Hinata-chan but I'll have to go with Natsu on this one." Naruto said mournfully. 

Hinata's eyes were drawn to the sand and she began digging her feet in and out of it, a sure sign of nervousness. 

"Then I'm sorry to," Shikamaru said, making Hinata bite her lip. "Demo, I'm going to stay with the person who has had some experience on these grounds."

Hinata smiled at Shikamaru who nodded his head, Shino walked behind her, making his choice obvious even without words. 

"Me too," Sakura said, making her final decision. 

"Ugh!" Natsu groaned. "Fine, whatever, we'll see you guys tomorrow in rock country, if any of you come to senses there is always room for more. Come on Naruto."

With that Natsu disappeared over the sand followed by Naruto. Hinata was staring worriedly after them. 

"Demo, I know I'm right about this." Hinata said.

---page break---

Naruto and Natsu walked leisurely through the desert in silence. The wind whipped around them but still no sign of a sandstorm. The blue-eyed boy glanced at the older girl as sand whipped against his face and neck.

"Are you sure we're going to be okay?" Naruto asked Natsu, glancing behind them in the general direction of the others. 

"What?" Natsu asked. "Having second thoughts?"

"Actually yes!" he said rubbing sand from his face. 

"Oh don't be a baby!" Natsu cried. "A little sand never hurt anyone!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks and gaped at the sky behind Natsu. The Jounin turned and also gasped as the sandstorm began to take shape.

"Move." Natsu said to Naruto backing up.

When the blonde didn't move Natsu became aggravated and grabbed Naruto, shielding him with her own body as the sand storm hit them. Both Shinobi were swept off their feet and into the air.

"Hold on!" Natsu said, gripping Naruto's hands tightly.

They were thrown out of the storm and onto the ground, 100 yards away from where the sand storm now raged. Naruto laid on his back in the warm sand Natsu not to far away.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto said sitting up. "How about you?"

"I'm ok to," Natsu said, in a cheerful voice.

"Ok." Naruto said standing and searching the dark landscape for Natsu.

The Jounin glanced up and saw Naruto a few yards away. She bit her lip and felt her leg until she found the kunai, wedged deeply into her nerve.

---page break---

All was silent at Hinata, Sakura, Shino, and Shikamaru's makeshift camp. Everyone had decided to get some rest considering they couldn't move until morning. Soft snores filled the still night air the only noise other then that was the wind kicking up. Hinata stood from the spot she had made and prepared to go out and find Naruto and Natsu. 

"Hinata-san?" Sakura said wearily.

"Hai?" Hinata whispered. 

"Where are you going?" Sakura hissed.

"I have to go find Natsu-san and Naruto." Hinata said.

"Ok, be careful and take my medical bag," Sakura replied.

"Arigotou." Hinata said, smiling before taking the bag and sprinting away into the desert.

She found the sandstorm before actually finding Natsu and Naruto. It was the screams that signified she was close. As Natsu tried to hobble away she ran into Hinata before falling to the ground again shoving the kunai deeper into her flesh. 

"Naruto, we're over here!" Hinata cried over the rushing sound of sand. 

The blonde boy made it to them, hugging Hinata tightly to show his gratitude.

"What are we going to do?" Natsu asked from her spot on the ground.

"We can't out run it!" Hinata cried as the storm loomed over them. 

"Brace yourselves!" Naruto called trying to protect the two girls. 

In yet when the storm hit there was nothing that hit them, Naruto and Natsu looked up to see Hinata holding up a sand shield to protect them from the storm.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, family problems and stalkers. The next chapter will be up by Tuesday.**e peeked out from underneath his hat and caught sight of Temari sitting He ha


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Okay so I'm trying to make up for updating so late so here you guys go.**

**Disclaimer: I wonder if I have to keep putting this up here…**

**Chapter: 33**

Hinata stayed awake all night keeping them in her sand shelter. When the morning came she no longer had enough chakra to maintain it any longer and she collapsed, the sand caving in on them.

"Hinata are you okay?" Naruto cried, crawling over to the gasping girl on the ground. 

The Hyuuga looked up at him with exhausted eyes but a beaming face. Her hand reached for his and clasped it tightly.

"As long as you and Natsu-san are alright I think I'll live." She said closing her eyes and giving Naruto's hand a brief squeeze.

A jolt ran through the blonde and he couldn't help the blush that overcame him as his cheeks turned red. Hinata released his hand and shifted her eyes over to Natsu who still laid on the sand. 

Using the rest of her strength Hinata dragged herself through the grainy ground and over to her Jounin instructor.

"Natsu-san are you alright?" Hinata asked. 

Natsu tried to sit up and reassure her with a smile but her body was paralyzed. So instead she mustered the most confident voice she could.

"Of course!" Natsu said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I found your kunai pouch, that was how I got to you guys." Hinata said. "There was three kunai missing."

"Well I don't AHHHHHH!" Natsu screamed as Hinata touched the handle of the kunai in Natsu's upper thigh.

Hinata looked at her teacher with tears brimming in her eyes. 

"It's all my fault!" Hinata said, one tear spilling down her cheek.

"It's not your fault Hinata-chan," Natsu said, still lying there. "It was mine, I should have listened to you. Do you forgive me?"

Hinata nodded her head vigorously before she was fully drained and laid there as useless as Natsu.

"Naruto?" Natsu asked.

"Uh yeah." Naruto answered, as the situation fully sank in. 

"Could you go get the others with your toad summon or whatever?" Natsu asked. "It looks like Hinata and I won't be moving for a while and I need a medic."

"Yeah of course!" Naruto insisted, beginning the hand seals.

"Be careful!" Hinata piped in weakly. 



"Of course! But what about you guys? What if an enemy comes?" Naruto asked his concern also evident.

"Here I have an idea!" Natsu said, forcing herself into a painful sitting position. "Now Naruto lift Hinata and lean her against me that way it looks like we're both action ready."

"Alright!" Naruto cried.

With a little help from the blonde the plan was successfully set up properly. 

"Now go," Natsu commanded. "Hurry!"

In a puff of smoke Naruto was soon gone on Gamabuntas back.

"I hope everyone else is still okay," Hinata said confiding her fears into her leader.

"Me too, Hinata. Me to." Natsu said. 



---Page break---

Gaara and his siblings burst out of the foliage and out onto the smooth Desert plain. Fear gripped Temari's and Gaara's hearts as they contemplated on the effect of the sandstorm on their friends. The Kazekage refused to stand around and began walking through the desert seeking out the familiar chakra Kankurou and Temari not far behind. As they passed what looked like a dune they heard a muffled voice from underneath the sand. They all dove and began to dig to find the source of the noise. The expedition ended when a muffled shriek was made clear as Sakura jumped from the sand pile covering her ticklish midsection. Next to emerge out of the whole was Shino, assisted by his bugs. Temari and Gaara ignored them and instead sat waiting for two other people. Shikamaru's head popped out of the sand and Temari sighed in relief. While Gaara continued to stare into the hole.

"There's no one else in there Kazekage-sama." Shino said answering the young man's unasked question.

"Where is she?" Temari asked before either of her brothers got a chance.

"She went ahead to protect Naruto and Natsu from the sandstorm." Sakura said, looking quizzically into the horizon. "What's that?" Sakura asked, pointing to the small black shape quickly approaching them. 

Everyone turned towards the direction of Sakura's finger. The shape became clearer and all of the leaf ninja sighed in relief.

"Is that a giant frog?" Kankurou asked, shivering in disgust.

"It's a toad." Temari corrected, also quiet confused. "What do you think it means Gaara?" 

But the Kazekage ignored his siblings and instead ran across the sand towards the large amphibian. 

"Gaara!" Kankurou cried. "Where are you going?"

The leaf ninjas instead decided to dash foreword just like the Kazekage. Temari and Kankurou looked at each other before looking back towards the giant animal. A smile lit up the blondes face as she finally recognized a person sitting atop the toad.

"That's not a toad you idiot! It's Naruto!" and she dashed off as well. 

"Naruto??" Kankurou asked himself quizzically before following everyone else.

When he got closer he realized it was indeed Naruto standing on the giant toads back. The blonde demon container jumped to the ground.



"Naruto!" Sakura said hugging him. "I'm so glad to see your okay!"

"Yeah." He said giving his old teammate a little squeeze back.

"Is Hinata okay as well?" Shino asked.

"Of course I wouldn't let anything happen to her and Natsu!" Naruto said, angry at the doubt in his teammate's voices.

"Then why aren't they with you?" Shikamaru asked, suspiciously.

"Well, funny story really…" Naruto said nervously. 

"Hinata protected you from the sandstorm and exhausted all her chakra didn't she?" Gaara asked.

"Uh yeah…how did you know?" Naruto asked, as everyone stared at the Kazekage curiously.



"Because on her first day in Suna Hinata was caught in a storm and I created a shield to get us to the Kazekage tower, seeing as you had no shelter to run to she probably was able to only protect you because of her determination." Gaara said.

"If that's the case," Shino said reaching into a pouch at his waist and pulling out soldier pills. "These should do the trick."

"I don't know," Sakura said troubled. "I should go and take a look at her."

"Yeah and what about Natsu? She is our team leader." Shikamaru commented. 

"During the storm her weapon pouch was blown off and she was stabbed with her own kunai in her leg. Now she can barely move." Naruto said.

"Why didn't you say so idiot!" Sakura cried. "We have to get moving!"

They all jumped up onto Gamabunta's back and were off across the hot desert.



---Page break---

The sun beat harshly upon Hinata and Natsu, by mid day they had sweat out most of their fluids and Natsu was starting to feel dizzy. 

"Where is that knuckleheaded blonde!" Natsu snapped to no one in particular. 

"Don't get mad Natsu-san," Hinata's weary voice hushed the Jounin. "He's trying his best, that's all we can ask for."

"He's been gone for hours!" Natsu said. "Hinata I don't know if he'll be coming back."

"Don't say that!" Hinata cried her voice stronger than before. "He'll come back…I know he will." She continued, her voice trailing off this time.

"Wait Hinata!" Natsu cried leaning more heavily on the young girl."Keep talking with me."

"Oh but Natsu-chan I'm so tired." Hinata yawned her voice taking on a childlike tone.

"No! Hinata don't go to sleep!" Natsu said leaning all her weight on the younger woman. "If you go to sleep now I don't think you'll wake up!"

"Of course I will!" Hinata said, pushing Natsu back to a sitting position. "Besides, my body's numb already."

Natsu felt the Hyuuga sag against her and quickly startled her awake. The white eyed girl sat with a start and gasped, in pain and shock. However instead of saying anything she sniffled and burst into tears just like a toddler who was awoken prematurely from their daily nap. Her sobs became louder and louder. Natsu thanked God as Naruto appeared on the horizon.

---Page Break---

Naruto and the others were silent as they continued to trek the desert. 

"Naruto!" Sakura said worriedly. "There is no way you and Natsu traveled this way last night. Are you sure this is the way?"

"He he he." Naruto chuckled nervously.

"You mean we're lost!?" Temari cried.

Everyone stared at Naruto angrily, the Kazekage was about to pounce when a breeze blew by carrying a familiar noise. Gaara turned toward it, eyes Narrowed.

"They are that way," he said pointing the way.

"Right," Naruto said. "I knew that."

They were off again and thanks to the increasing volume of Hinata's cries they were able to find them. When the two girls were in sight Gaara leapt from the toad and rocketed towards them, followed closely by Temari and Shino. By the time they reached them Hinata's cries were shrieks. Gaara kneeled in front of her and studied her face. He quickly found the problem. Reaching into one of his pockets he pulled out a bottle of water. The girl's cries continued even as he uncapped the precious liquid. He looked at it for a minute and decided to take a drink. Sakura Naruto and Shikamaru arrived just in time as Hinata was silenced when the water bottle was shoved to her lips. 

She was only given small sips at a time to accustom her body to the water. Tears of frustration ran down her pale cheeks and her famous eyes glared at Gaara. Meanwhile Sakura was tending to Natsu.



"So am I going to live doctor?" Natsu joked.

"You should," Sakura said, completely serious. "How long has it been in your leg?"

Natsu stared at the ground afraid of telling the truth.

"Natsu, I need to know. This is vital!" Sakura said.

"This morning." The Jounin said. "I rolled over on it."

"Okay then," Sakura said. "You should be ok until we get to the mist but you won't be able to walk."

"Nonsense!" Natsu insisted climbing to her feet.

She tipped and yelped in pain; luckily Shikamaru was there to break her fall.



"Ow!" Shikamaru cried.

"I guess I'm not walking!" Natsu said grinning sheepishly.

Sakura sighed and walked over to Hinata who was now less delirious. The pinkette smiled as she sat next to the Hyuuga.

"So I heard that you protected them all night long." Sakura said. "Is that true?"

Hinata only nodded and received a small smack on the arm. The Hyuuga looked up a little shocked.

"You know you're not supposed to do that dummy!" Sakura teased.

Hinata only nodded. Sakura looked at her worriedly before reaching out and touching Hinata's arm. When this gauged no reaction from the Hyuuga, she bit her lip and pinched the girl instead. Still no reaction, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Hinata, do you feel this?" Sakura asked poking Hinata in the arm.



"No," Hinata said looking at her arm curious.

Sakura stood up and practically ran away from her Hyuuga teammate.

"So what's the scoop?" Shikamaru asked in a hiss.

"Yeah why do you look so pale?" Naruto asked as both he and Shino approached.

"I don't know how to say this…" Sakura said.

"What? Is there something wrong with Natsu?" Shino asked.

"No no!" Sakura said. "She'll be fine if someone carries her, but Hinata…"

Everyone was silent as they watched the tears gather in Tsunade's apprentice's eyes.

"I don't think she's going to make it." Sakura concluded. 



"WHAT!" Naruto cried.

His other teammates quickly silenced him as the people excluded from the conversation glanced at them.

"Shut up!" Shikamaru hissed. "Go on Sakura."

"Well you see her whole bodies numb, after exerting all your chakra you should slowly regain feeling in your body. But Hinata feels nothing." Sakura said.

"I'm not leaving her here!" Naruto said in a quiet voice.

"What are we supposed to do?" Shikamaru asked. "What if…you know she dies on the way? What do we do with the body then?"

"I don't care! I'm not leaving her!" Naruto said chucking a rock over his shoulder.



A small yelp filled everyone's ears, and the secret meeting was immediately over. They were all staring at Hinata who was slowly lifting her no doubt heavy arm to feel her face where a small red welt was forming.

"I felt that Sakura!" Hinata said.

"Really!?" She cried running over to her, accidently tripping over Hinata's legs and twisting one in an odd angle.

"And I definitely felt that!" Hinata said through gritted teeth.

"Can you walk?" Sakura asked. 

Hinata tried to sound but her legs wiggled like Jell-O and she fell to the hot ground once more.

"Owie." She said.

"Someone will just have to carry you." Sakura said looking at the three boys.

Temari looked at Hinata and then at Gaara, the Hyuuga didn't miss it and before t\Temari could open her mouth Hinata spoke.

"Shino-kun can you do it? It's just you were my old teammate and everything." Hinata said.

Shino nodded before using his bugs to lift her on his back. Shikamaru and Naruto looked at each other for a minute before both held up a fist.

"Only one round Naruto! No exceptions loser has to carry her." Shikamaru said. "1…2…3!"

Just as Shikamaru was going to pick rock he was tackled to the ground.

"Whoops!" Natsu said.

Shikamaru glared at her palms flat on the sand. After removing the Jounin from him he stood up and was faced with one of Naruto's stupid grins.

"What?" he asked rubbing them together to get rid of excess sand.



"Scissors cut paper! I win!" Naruto cried.

"Wait! No!" Shikamaru spluttered.

"Uh huh! YOU said no exceptions!" Naruto cried.

"But I!" Shikamaru said.

"You did say that Shikamaru." Sakura informed the genius.

Before Shikamaru could retort again Natsu found a way back onto his back.

'Tally ho!" She cried yanking on Shikamaru's hair. 

"I hate you!" he spat.

And the team was off once again after parting ways with the Kazekage, and by sunset they were out of the Desert and back on the path. Hinata's cheek was pressed against Shino's back but her Byakugan was activated. Everyone kept themselves mostly busy with idle talking while Hinata kept her eyes peeled for traps.

"What's that?" Hinata asked herself. "Shino watch out, I think there's something suspicious up ahead."

The stoic boy nodded and began to tread carefully however Naruto was about to walk into whatever it was. When Hinata realized what it was it was too late Naruto had activated the trap.

"Brace yourselves!" She cried, as a giant hole opened underneath them.

But before Hinata fell completely she was caught by a thick cloud of bugs. She looked down to see Shino lying on a bed of spikes along with the others.

"Damn these traps!" Naruto cursed, blood leaking from his arm.

"Hinata!" Natsu said. "I landed on Shikamaru so he got the worst of the spikes. You need to go get help."

"But Natsu!" Sakura said, shifting her trembling body. "She has no chakra left!"

"I have soldier pills." Shino said painfully producing the box from his side. 

"But!" Sakura tried again.

However it was obvious that no one was listening to her anymore. Natsu reached into her vest and pulled out a heavy medal.

"Take this to the closest village and get help, we won't make it to mist by the deadline but at least we'll live." Natsu said placing it in the pale girl's hand.

She was then given the box of soldier pills, and she was able to choke one down. Chakra slowly came back to her and she was able to move again. Slowly she was placed at the top of the pit.

"Promise me you'll take it easy with those pills!" Sakura insisted.

"I promise, don't move!" Hinata said.



"I don't think we really have anywhere to go." Naruto joked, but Hinata could not miss the disappointment in her teammate's eyes. 

She nodded and began to run down the path avoiding traps as she went to find help. By dawn she had already consumed half the box of soldier pills and now she stood at the crossroads. Straight ahead stood the village that Natsu had told her about and then there was the path to the mist village. The Hyuuga couldn't get rid of Naruto's look. She quickly consumed the rest of the package and dashed off in the direction of mist. She saw the bridge by midday and according to her watch she only had two minutes to make it to the mainland. Rocketing off the tree she stood on she sprinted as fast as she could as the final seconds ticked by.

---Page break---

"Hinata where are you!" Natsu groaned, trying to stop the flow of the unconscious Shikamaru's blood.

"She should have been back by now." Sakura said, trying to stay perfectly still.

"Maybe she's run into a bit of trouble I should go get her." Naruto said trying to get up.



"Don't you move!" Natsu said. "We need to have more faith in Hinata."

"I'm glad to hear you trust your subordinates." Tsunade said, peering into the pit.

"Tsunade-sama!" Natsu and Sakura gasped.

"I'm here to get you all out." Tsunade reassured. "Don't worry!"

After all the ninjas were pulled from the hole they were being transported to the mist village with anbu.

"I have to heal you all quickly." Tsunade said to herself as they continued to make their way to the village.

"What's the point?" Naruto grumbled.

"What do you mean what's the point? You have the second part of the Jounin exam in two days." Tsunade said.

"But!" Naruto began but was silenced as Tsunade pulled out Natsu's metal.

"You're lucky. Hinata made it with 20 seconds to spare." Tsunade said.

Naruto looked like he had been slapped in the face while Natsu and Sakura only laughed.

**A/N: Okay I know this is way late so I made this really long compared to my other chapters. Review! Hope you enjoy and Happy Easter!**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Okay well I think I'll have to go back to weekly updates, or if I'm lucky maybe I can ditch some homework and do this during classes instead!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own**

**Chapter 34**

Hinata sat up in her hospital bed and looked out the window as the sun slowly rose. As the golden disk rose and rose so did her pride. She couldn't believe she made it in time.

_Flash back_

_Hinata sprinted as fast as she could, reaching the bridge. Time seemed to stop for her as her feet hit the bridge, her sandals barely making slight shuffling noises. There on the other side stood the teams who had already passed the test. All stared at her confused about where her team was, but she barely spared them a glance. Her heart roared in her ears her chest heaving even as she continued sprinting._

"_Go Hinata!" Kasumi called from where she stood with her team on the other side of the bridge._

_Hinata flashed her a smile and continued on running, her legs pumping faster than ever before. The soldier pills were doing their job but she was losing juice fast. Just as the final seconds were counted down she leapt as high as she could and landed on her feet on the other side of the bridge just as the final second slipped by. The teams cheered and her new friend swept Hinata into a hug._

"_You did it Hinata!" Kasumi cried._

'_I'm proud of you love.' The calm yet proud voice of her demon echoed inside her head. _

_Hinata's legs went out on her and she was falling to the ground quickly. Kasumi wasn't prepared to hold the small girl and dropped her. Neji who had lead another team pushed past the gathering crowed and ran to his fallen cousins side. He shook her shoulders and Natsu's seal fell from Hinata's pocket._

_End Flashback_

There was a soft knock on her door and Hinata jumped. Quickly activating her Byakugan she checked to see who her visitor was. Kasumi stood on the other side of the door holding flowers, while the rest of her team was crowded together right behind her. The Hyuuga smiled and gave the okay to enter.



Slowly the door opened and Kasumi peeked her head in, she looked as though she was about to say something when her team shoved her in. They all fell in a heap on the floor and Hinata craned her neck to see if they were okay. Kasumi was able to detangle herself first.

"Here Hinata-chan! She gasped pulling out a bouquet of wilted flowers.

Hinata giggled and took them from the red head who then turned to help her team untangle themselves. It took at least another five minutes.

"Hinata," Kasumi said finally. "I want you to meet my team!"

The Hyuuga nodded and sat patiently in the bed as they all lined up.

"This is Yuki." Kasumi said shoving the first one foreword.

The girl was extremely pale. White enough to practically put the hospital bed sheets to shame. A waterfall of ebony framed her face all the way down to her waist. On either side of her a Katana was strapped and she wore simple black pants and a black t-shirt. Her eyes a deep emerald green and her face blank. Hinata slowly nodded to the girl, who immediately bowed.



"Nice to meet you." Hinata said.

The girl immediately straightened herself and stood stock-still.

"Am I dismissed yet Ojou-sama?" she asked.

Hinata looked at Kasumi questioningly. The red head nodded and Hinata's eyes flickered back to the raven-haired girl.

"Hai?" Hinata asked.

The girl bowed once more before backing away towards the door. Hinata looked back at Kasumi who was already pushing two more girls forward. Both had sun kissed skin and short brown hair, they were obviously twins. However the one defining trait between them were their eye colors. One seemed determined with a smirk on her face, she had sky blue eyes, and the other who seemed quite content with hiding behind her sister had pale green eyes.

"Hey my name is Sora!" the blue-eyed girl said grabbing Hinata's hand and shaking it vigorously.



"H-hello my n-n-name is Rikku." The shy girl said peeking out from behind her sister.

"Ahhh! But don't worry about her, she's actually a MEGA PERV!!" Sora cried.

"Sora!" the girl Rikku said, grabbing for her sisters head.

The blue-eyed girl quickly ducked and ran away, the green-eyed girl quickly in tow. Next up was a young man with long hay colored hair tied in a loose ponytail at the bottom of his neck. He had dark obsidian eyes and straight handsome face. However when he stared at Hinata she felt her heart clench and a chill ran down her spine. There was something scary familiar about this man and Hinata couldn't shake the feeling that he was bad news in general. He nodded once before going to the end of the line.

"Yeah I know he's creepy isn't he!" Kasumi said.

Hinata only nodded, and continued to watch the strange young man.

"The Raikage put him on our team and gave us a new Jounin instructor at the last minute." Kasumi added just as the door to Hinata's room was pulled open. Neji stood there with Naruto, Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara. Kasumi glanced at Hinata and the Hyuuga nodded. Quickly Kasumi organized her team and they were out in a few minutes.

Neji was the first to enter and made a b line to his cousin's side.

"Are you feeling better yet Hinata-sama?" Neji asked.

"Hai," Hinata said grabbing her cousin's hand.

"Good to hear Hinata-chan," Naruto and Temari said at once.

"Naruto!" Hinata gasped. "You should be resting! You were severely injured."

"No worries I'm a fast healer." Naruto said grinning.

"So are you Hinata-chan I thought you would still be unconscious." Kankurou said.

'It's the joy of having me around.' Hinata's demon said in her head.



Hinata looked around at all her visitors until they landed on the red headed Kazekage. Her once bright violet eyes dulled immediately and fell to her hands, which she twisted to amuse herself.

"Temari," Gaara said.

His sister nodded and slowly ushered every one out of the room so that Gaara and Hinata could have a moment alone. The door shut with a definite sounding click and silence fell over them. The Kazekage stood there waiting for her speak but she didn't.

"How…" Gaara began.

"Well" Hinata said at the same moment.

They both looked at each other, silence overcoming them again. Hinata was tempted to look down but swallowed the lump in her throat and came to eye level with the Kazekage.

"You go first Kazekage-sama." Hinata said, fake smile plastered on her face.

Gaara narrowed his eyes in anger, why was she being fake with him? She had never acted like this before.



"No you first Hyuuga-san." Gaara said in a monotone.

Hinata looked up shocked like she had been slapped in the face, the formality representing their abolished friendship, tears welled in her eyes and she stood from the bed, ignoring the weakness in her legs.

"Well since I know you hate me we might as well not talk!" she said, letting a tear escape.

Now Gaara looked as if he had been smacked.

"See!" Hinata said frustrated. "Now you've seen my weakness and now you're going to feel bad!"

Gaara opened his mouth to say something but Hinata cut him off.

"Don't worry! I won't take any more of your precious time," she spat before jumping out the window.



--Page Break--

"Natsu-chan are you feeling better?" Tsunade asked.

"Great!" Natsu said confidently. "How's the rest of my team though?"

"All ship shape, but the reason

"I ask how you are doing is that we can't post pone the exams any longer." Tsunade said. "I don't know if you're ready to walk yet, and if that's the case your team will have to forfeit."

Natsu looked at Tsunade surprised. Then carefully she folded down the blankets and ignoring the loud protests of the nurses and Tsunade she stood, a little unsteady at first but still stood.

"This is the most important thing to my team and it's also the most important thing to me!" Natsu said.

Tsunade smiled and nodded.

"Alright then the beginning of the second part of the Jounin exams will begin this afternoon."

--Page Break--

Hinata stood with her team and the remaining teams as the last round of the Jounin exam was being prepared.

"Alright!" Tsunade cried. "You will all now send a representative from your teams to come up and draw a slip of paper from this box."

Hinata looked at her teammates who were all urging her to go up and pick a slip of paper. The Hyuuga slowly walked towards the platform along with the light haired male from Kasumi's team, a dark haired male who eyed her closely, and a small girl from the last team.

"Since obviously Mizukage's team made it here first and the Raikage's team made it second they will pick from the box first." Tsunade explained holding it out.

"Next will be the team from the land of Rain and of course our great team!" Tsunade said, grinning at the last part.

The teams did as they were told. However when Hinata walked towards the box and placed her hand in the dark haired young man who was to be picking with her, shoved his hand quickly inside the box and clenched her pale and cold fingers. Hinata refused to show her surprise and continued to stare at him as if she was still picking her slip of paper. Her fingers were able to move enough to give the young man a hard pinch, but he still did not let go. Slowly guiding both of their hands he made her pick up a paper. Hinata let it fall from her fingers as a sign of rebellion but she felt the young man's hand tighten before he shoved the paper in her hand once again. She slowly withdrew her hand and held the slip tightly in her closed fist before turning away from the strange boy and heading back to her team.

"What was that about?" She mumbled to herself.

"What was what about?" Shino asked, next to her in a minute.

"Nothing," Hinata said, handing the slip of paper to Shino, who took it.

Finally the boy was done picking his slip and walked away from the box, Tsunade staring curiously after him.

"Anyway, now all of you who picked need to open your slip and show them to us all." Tsunade said.



Nervously everyone gathered around Shino who slowly unstuck the paper, on its white surface was an inky black mark of the Suna symbol, and Hinata felt her stomach clench.

"All right now who has the leaf?" Tsunade asked.

The Jounin team for the Raikage and Mizukage both approached the large platform where everyone was crowded around.

"You two teams will go head to head and try to get this from me!" Tsunade said producing a scroll from her thigh pouch. "Then those with the symbol for sand will do the same except…"

"With me," Gaara said producing another scroll, and holding it for all to see. "The remaining two teams will try and protect the scrolls from getting taken and will only win if they are able to force the other teams into submission." The Kazekage continued trying to avoid looking at the Hyuuga girl standing there.

"This begins on the count of three, 1…2…3!" Tsunade cried both her and Gaara disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The teams were frantically trying to get together before heading out to complete their respective tasks. Luckily Hinata's team was easily assembled and they began to speed off when Hinata's ankle was grabbed in mid leap and she was thrown to the ground.



"Hinata!" Shikamaru cried, catching everyone else's attention.

The two battling teams stood in silence looking at their two teammates who remained in the same position, Hinata lying on the ground on her stomach and her ankle in young man's tight grip. Kicking back at the young man her leg was finally released and she stood up painfully.

"Don't worry!" Hinata said wincing at the pain that shot through her sides. "I'll take care of him!"

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked trying to maintain her balance with the crutches.

"Hai," Hinata nodded turning back to the boy.

Natsu nodded to Hinata's back and then lead the rest of them foreword. Hinata turned towards the young man, her soft eyes turned hard.

"What is your business?" Hinata asked.



The young man simply reached into his kunai pouch and Hinata gasped, she held her hands at the ready for any weapon attacks. However instead he pulled out what appeared to be a letter that had been torn open.

"Hyuuga Hinata I am Akihiko Narumi," without another word he threw the letter at her feet and she immediately recognized it as the one meant for Gaara.

Her face burned with rage and her eyes turned dark with blood lust.

"Akihiko Narumi today is the day you will be beaten by the heiress to the Hyuuga clan."

--Page break--

Kasumi continued to run, her head glancing behind her every few minutes making sure she had lost her new teammate and Jounin instructor. However as she leapt from a branch the Jounin appeared from nowhere and punched her hard in the gut. The red heads eyes rolled and blood spilled past her lips before she fell from the trees. The man smirked as the younger looking man with the hay colored appeared beside him and released the henge over his original form. The older or at least taller man did as well, revealing bluish skin and gills along with a mouth full of razor teeth.

"Itachi?" Kisame asked the Uchiha.

"Hai." Itachi answered, slightly distracted.

"Can you find the nine tailed fox?" Kisame asked again.

"Hai."

"How about the Shukaku?"

"Hai."

Just as the word left Itachi's lips said Akatsuki pulled Kisame in to the tress and disguised them as Naruto's team labored through the trees with Natsu's injuries. Motioning for Kisame to be silent they both followed the Konoha team from a safe distance.

**A/N: Sorry it only felt right to add the fact that the Akatsuki was after the demons this whole time. Once again REVIEW PLEASE!**




	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: here you guys go**

**Disclaimer: fbshdfgsyafgsdgsg (do you guys really read this?)**

**Chapter 35:**

Hinata slid into her gentle fist stance. If he wanted to fight a Hyuuga he would get the beating only a Hyuuga could dish out. The boy nodded but still just stood there, Hinata shrugged it off as a bluffing technique and came at him full force. Her palm flew at his arm pumped with Chakra; however he caught her wrist and even though she was able to send shockwaves through his arm her chakra never reached him. Quickly she pulled her wrist from him only to find a sticky black membrane surrounding her wrist. She tried again with her other hand and got the same result. The membrane unsettled her but she kept a straight face as she tried for the second time to hit him with a chakra filled palm. However unlike the last time this one struck the mark.

A small smile flitted across her face but was soon replaced with a look of horror contorting her features. The black sticky substance tightened around her wrists and sent a shockwave of chakra through her arms making them shake as her opponent stood unharmed. Blinking back a few tears she tried again, putting all she had into it and when she struck the young man this time the after effect was so great on her she lost control of her arms and they dropped to her sides.

"Would you like me to tell you about that black goop on your writs?" the boy asked, receiving a glare in return. "It's my own device; it blocks your chakra from going anywhere past your wrists then directs it back through you."

"So basically you're telling me that my gentle fist has no use on you?" Hinata asked.

"Of course," he said shrugging. "I'm glad my jutsu was able to hold, it's only three days in the making after all."

The Hyuuga's eyes widened slightly but other than that kept her face blank. A jutsu that only took a few days to create defeated her clan jutsu that took generations to perfect was supposed to be impossible.

"You should be grateful to me." He said suddenly. "It would be embarrassing to ask the Kazekage to take in someone who is so easily defeated."

Hinata's face flushed red in anger. However her white eyes turned sad as she realized that she had gotten angry at Gaara for no reason at all and now he would probably never talk to her again.

"Don't worry." The boy said suddenly catching Hinata's attention again. "I'll make it so you have an honorable death."

Akihiko ran at her faster then she had expected and held a kunai at the ready. The cold metal was about to be scraped across her skin when he was hit hard in the groin and he flew backwards. Hinata straightened and turned back towards the young man shaking her right leg as 

if to stretch it out. Slowly he stood wincing at the stinging pain. Shaking his head he ran again, this time instead of using a weapon he poised his fist. Just as he face was about to be hit her leg came up and blocked him.

"What is this?!"He growled. "Hyuuga's aren't trained in normal Taijutsu!"

"I am not just a Hyuuga!" Hinata snapped letting her leg fall and hitting him in the side with the other. "I am Hinata Hyuuga! And I KNOW TAIJUTSU!" she cried the last part as she attempted to drop kick him.

He caught her leg at the last moment but still buckled a little under the pressure. Hinata jumped away to avoid any close range attacks. He smirked before dashing towards her, but Hinata was ready she was able to block with her leg again praying that the feeling would return to her arms soon. He smirked at her as she winced a bit as he applied pressure.

"You may be a Hyuuga and know Taijutsu and I'll admit that that caught me by surprise, demo your teacher must have never taught you the most important rule of fist fighting," he said leaning more of his weight on her.

"What's that?" Hinata asked good naturedly, pushing back a little.

"Men are stronger than women." He said as he knocked her leg away.



Hinata felt something pull in her leg and she limped a bit backwards as she tried to regain the grip on herself. But he wouldn't wait for her and tried to tackle her. The Hyuuga dodged for a second but was soon pinned on the ground underneath Akihiko. He held her face with one hand as he held her wrists with the other.

"You actually put up a pretty good fight." He complimented.

Instead of saying something Hinata tried to devise a plan. Akihiko noticed the calculating look in her eyes so he slammed her head on the ground making her vision swim.

"Hey don't be getting ideas ok." He said. "Demo can I ask you a question?"

"Well it seems that in my current position you can ask me anything you want." Hinata retorted trying to distract him.

"Why do you love the Kazekage?" he asked.

"I-I don't love him!" Hinata said blushing brightly.

"Your face seems to say differently," He commented, drawing a kunai after releasing her face.

"Well I do l-love him" Hinata said blushing an even deeper shade of red. "Demo not like in love love. More like a brother."

"Good because I was going to say that you were an idiot for loving a beast like that." He said holding the kunai to her throat and preparing to slit it.

"What do you mean?" she asked hotly, the prospect of death far away from her mind.

"He has the sand demon Shukaku inside him." He said bringing the kunai closer to her neck.

"Yes but that's not his fault." Hinata countered.

"He killed hundreds of people." The boy retorted. "He needs to be locked up! After I finish here I'll do just that."

Suddenly Hinata raised her hand and smacked him hard across the face. He blinked in surprise for a few minutes.



"That's YOUR fault!" Hinata cried. "Scum like you treated him with hate when he was a child and that is why he turned out that way! So all that blood and death is on your hands not his!"

"Shut up!" he cried whipping out the kunai again.

Hinata's pupil-less eyes turned darker and darker as he accused her more and more.

"You're a monster just like him!" Akihiko cried stabbing her in the shoulder.

Hinata screamed in pain and tears threatened to leak from her tightly closed lids. Another few moments passed for Hinata and just as the Hyuuga was about to open her eyes another blade was stabbed deeply into her other shoulder. A choked scream came out and this time her eyes were open in shock. Akihiko held a katana over his head directly over Hinata's stomach and that was when everything went black.

--Page Break--

Gaara sprinted with his siblings and elite Guard in the surrounding forest of the mist village.

"Gaara?" Temari asked, noticing her brother's careless distracted leaps in the trees.



"Hmm?" Gaara answered looking towards his sister.

"Is there something wrong?" Temari asked again.

"No," Gaara said stern.

"Does it have something to do with Hinata?" she asked again ignoring her brother's previous lie.

The red head missed the next branch due to his sisters shocking question. But thanks to his sand he was able to regain his composure and keep the pace.

"Are you guys mad at each other?" Temari asked never ceasing with the questions.

"Ask her." Gaara growled.

"Well I need to tell you something about her," she said nervously.



"What?" Gaara asked less then enthused.

"She gave me a note to give to you, when I was returning to Suna." She said slowly. "Demo, I lost it on the way here."

Gaara glared at her for a few minutes before focusing back on the trail he was taking.

"I didn't think it was something important!" Temari tried to make an excuse.

"So you mean that she was mad at me because I didn't get the letter you lost?" Gaara said trying to control his anger.

"Hai!" Temari said wincing.

But instead of her brother being furious she heard a strange noise come from him. Her eyes snapped open and she couldn't help the look of wonderment on her face. Because she could have sworn that the noise that had come from her brother was the closest thing to a laugh she would ever here. His steps now were confident and focused so she knew she had to have lifted his spirits a little bit.



"Kazekage-sama!" One of his Jounin's cried frantically from up a head.

"What?" he barked as he sped up to see the problem.

The Jounin merely pointed and his eyes were drawn to a vaguely familiar red headed girl who was half conscious.

"She's been calling for you for over ten minutes." One Jounin pointed out.

"What is it?" he asked the girl.

"Black with red clouds." She mumbled. "After Hina…"

But the girl wasn't able to finish before she passed out. Gaara immediately stood and turned towards his sister.

"You're in charge." He said throwing the scroll at her before disappearing in a swirl of sand.



"What is Temari-chan?" Matsuri asked, coming just in time to see her sensei disappear.

"Hinata's in trouble." The blonde said before taking charge.

--Page Break--

Hinata would never have said she had an out of body experience until now. It seemed like she was watching someone in her body beating the young man before her into a bloody pulp.

'Stop it!' she tried to say as one of her fists came crashing down on the young man's nose. 'Stop it now!'

But no matter how loud she screamed or cried there was still no stopping the assault the face before her became a mangled bloody mess, hardly recognizable. His eyes swollen shut, a constant bloody nose and his lips split forming slowly into pleading words that fell on deaf ears. Next the fists moved onto the chest cavity and began to pound on that as well. His breathing was being slowed and labored, he was dying.

'Stop it!' Hinata said feeling tears actually start to fall down her cheeks. 'Stop or you're going to kill him!'



Pain rocketed through her skull and Hinata sound that she was once more in control over her body. She rolled off the young man and lay on the ground clutching her head, not knowing what was causing her such pain. Soon she realized her Byakugan was on and the pain was from the after effects of the young man's jutsu. She turned it off and was able to sit up as the pain slowly subsided. Her white eyes were drawn to the young man struggling in his own blood trying to survive. Bile rose in her throat and she had to back away from him. Bumping lightly into something she stopped and looked up, met with aqua eyes brimming with feelings.

"Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked.

A light pat on her head assured her that he was really there and she leapt at him sobbing hard onto his shoulder.

"I killed him!" she sobbed. "I killed him!"

"No you didn't," Gaara said. "He is still alive. You can still save him."

"Demo I can't look at him!" Hinata cried.

"Then you really did kill him." Gaara said unfeeling.



Hinata looked into his eyes for any type of reassurance but found only instead a blank face. Slowly she turned and watched the young man fighting to survive.

"As long as you can face what you've done and can try to make it better you are no monster." Gaara said giving her confidence.

She fell to her knees and crawled next to Akihiko and she began to clean the blood of his face and apply ointment to his cuts. Gaara felt a strange sense of pride that she actually tried to fix what she had done, something he had never been able to do so easily. He then noticed a letter lying on the ground next to the young man's foot. The Kazekage picked it up and pocketed it just as Hinata finished all she could do.

"He'll be okay now." Hinata said, smiling a little to herself, proud she was able to fix what she had done.

"The Akatsuki is here," Gaara said suddenly catching all of the Hyuuga's attention.

"Really? Do we know where they are?" Hinata asked.

"No but our source says somewhere near you." Gaara said.



"Demo I didn't feel any of their chakra," she said matter of factly.

"Then what did she mean by 'after Hina'?" Gaara wondered out loud.

"While I was in their captivity they said something about the demons, like Shukaku and the nine tailed fox." Hinata said absently.

Gaara looked at her and she met his eyes with wide white ones.

"Oh no! Naruto-kun!" and both of them were off.

--Page Break--

"I hope Hinata's okay." Sakura said anxiously.

"She'll be fine." Shino said. "She is strong."



"That may be true but she has been gone a long time." Naruto said leading the group.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura choked out, making Naruto stop dead in his tracks.

The blonde whipped around and saw that standing before them was the famous Kisame Hoshigoki and instead of Sasuke Uchiha he came face to face with Itachi Uchiha.

**A/N: yeah I kind of ruined the romanticness between Hinata and Gaara but we are getting there! I hope you all like this and will stick with me till the end! Oh and after this fic I want to start a new one but I need a couple to write about. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Spectacular reviews and I thank you all good folks! Again if you don't think that I'm giving Hinata and Gaara enough romance time, after this chapter is when everything will get more romantically dramatic. Keep in mind that this will definitely end as a Gaara and Hinata. THEY WILL BE TOGETHER I PROMISE!! If you do not like any of the material I put in this chapter then I apologize but remember I am doing a lot of this for my own entertainment and if you don't like a couple or a situation I apologize and I'll even write you your own personal mini story to make it all better. **

**Due to popular demand! **

**Story thus far: Hinata traveled to Suna to become stronger and forget about her blonde knight in shining armor. There she met the Kazekage and they both, through a bunch of strange events, grew attached to each other. However Hinata had to return to Konoha. As soon as she got back she realized she missed Suna so much that she wanted **

**Chapter: 36**

"Sasuke…" Sakura could only gasp as tears started to form a slow steady stream down her cheeks.

"Looks like your brother has a fan Itachi," Kisame joked.

Itachi sent a glare at his partner before transporting himself onto the same branch with Sakura. The pinkette threw her arms around the young man's waist and sobbed into his trademark coat. Itachi wrapped one of his arms around her waist while reaching in his pouch for a kunai.

"Sasuke-kun I missed you so much." She breathed, just loud enough for Itachi to hear.

He lifted the metal knife and pressed it to her throat but she didn't seem to notice as she continued to cry. Just as he was about to slit her throat Natsu and Naruto intervened. The Jounin attempted to deliver a powerful kick to the Akatsuki's side while the blonde tried to safely remove Sakura. But Natsu's leg was met with a log. The young Jounin gritted her teeth and fell back to the other branch while Naruto rocketed away with the sobbing Sakura.

"Sakura," Naruto tried, however the continuous tears proved that he wouldn't be able to reach her. He cupped her face in his hands and he sighed before letting her head fall and standing.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan!" he said, turning to her with a sad smile. "I'll be back!"

With that Naruto rushed back into battle just as Natsu was beaten back by Itachi.

"Natsu-san!" Shikamaru cried dodging a blow from Kisame's sword and going to check on their instructor.

"You won't get away from me that easily!" the shark man cried following Shikamaru but stopped as Shino's swarm of Kekai bugs tried to latch themselves onto the Akatsuki.

When Shikamaru reached Natsu Itachi was already ready to attack her again.

"Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, I think so." Natsu said one hand clutching her bad leg. "It would help if we had Sakura, or at least Hinata!"

"Natsu-san," Itachi's cold voice broke through their conversation. "You should stop fighting; it is obvious you need medical attention. We have not come for you."

"I will not let you hurt anymore innocent people!" Natsu cried lunging at him, Naruto following her up with a rasengan.

"Naruto look out!!" Shino shouted as Sakura's fist came right in between Naruto and Natsu's heads, landing instead on a tree branch that exploded underneath her assault.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto cried, leaping away from his pink haired teammate.

"I won't let you hurt Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said glaring daggers at Naruto.



"Sakura…" Naruto said, trying to come up with a plan to help his now defenseless teammate.

"Kisame," Itachi's voice came out bored, even though his eyes flickered with hate as he glanced over at Sakura. "Kill her."

"Aye aye sir!" Kisame chuckled at his sea worthy pun, while Itachi simply rolled his eyes.

Everyone gasped as the shark man lifted the sword over his head and swung it down. Blood splattered the tree trunk and everyone gasped.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" Hinata panted ignoring the extreme stinging sensation in her side.

The pinkette sat there shocked and looked into the worried eyes of her Hyuuga teammate and instead pushed her away.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, just as the Kazekage appeared next to him.



"Don't worry about her, worry about the Akatsuki members and why they are here in the first place." Gaara said, not even able to hide his worry from the blonde ninja.

Kisame stood on his branch looking triumphant, however in a flash he was crashed into a tree. Everyone looked around frantically not knowing whom to thank for the welcome distraction. Slowly he was able to pull himself out of the small crater he had made.

"What the hell Itachi!?" Kisame cried getting to his feet.

Everyone's eyes immediately flew over to the Uchiha who only stared impassively at his teammate.

"Her blood." He said finally.

"What about it!?" Kisame growled.

"There are only four people on this earth who have the right to spill Uchiha blood. That is my foolish younger brother, Leader-sama, her." He said pointing at Hinata who remained crouched to ease the pain in her side. "And myself."



"Uchiha blood?" Shikamaru asked. "She's a Hyuuga, not a Uchiha!"

Itachi only glanced at Hinata whose hand flew to her arm where an I.V drip used to pump the sacred Uchiha clan blood into her system. All eyes were now glued to her and she had to force her arm back down to her side before struggling to stand up right. However no explanation was given, as Kisame seemed to understand what he was being told.

"Fine no attacking her then," Kisame said. "But the rest are fair game right?"

"Do as you wish," Itachi said rolling his eyes.

"Sweet!" the shark man said before leaping towards Shikamaru who braced himself for the attack.

However Hinata quickly teleported in front of the young man and Kisame was thrown of kilter by the swift kick Itachi delivered to his head.

"Itachi if I can't attack her then I won't be able to attack anyone!" Kisame said.

"Not unless keep her busy." Itachi said.



"Hinata!" Shikamaru said pulling the Hyuuga who quickly grabbed Sakura just as a fire ball incinerated the branch she was on a moment before.

Soon all of the Konoha's Jounin exam team and the Kazekage were gathered on a single branch.

"What's the plan?" Naruto asked keeping his eyes on the Akatsuki.

"Honestly?" Natsu asked. "I don't know."

A moment of silence passed as hope faded in the group. Finally Natsu stood straighter before glancing back at her team.

"Alright I've got a plan." She said. "I'll distract them and you guys run for it."

"No way!" Hinata gasped. "You'll die!"



"Do you have any better ideas?" Natsu asked.

"I have an idea." Shino piped in. "Shikamaru is the best strategist so why don't we give him time to think?"

Everyone glanced at the Nara who nodded in agreement.

"But you guys have to buy me time, I may be a genius but I can't come up with a good plan in five seconds.

They all nodded before retreating a little further into the forest the Akatsuki never letting them out of their sight.

"They won't give us any time to rest." Naruto commented as he looked behind them.

"Wait! I have a plan so we can form a plan!" Natsu said suddenly excited.

After they decided their course of actions in whispers they all sped up and sprinted as fast as they possibly could. The Akatsuki members also sped up but kept a safe distance just in case.



But before too long they broke up into different groups. Gaara, Hinata, Naruto and Natsu went to the right while Shino and Shikamaru quickly dashed to the left. Kisame looked at his partner who nodded and the shark man headed off to the left while Itachi made a mad dash to the right. On a single branch stood Gaara, Hinata and Naruto, while an exhausted looking Natsu leaning against the trunk of the tree. Itachi formed the hand seals for his trademark fire ball jutsu and fired it at the small group of ninja's but a wall of sand quickly blocked them from any harm. Itachi retreated a few more feet and waited.

--Page Break--

Kisame continued to play with his prey for as long as they were willing, never getting close enough to catch them but never letting them get to far ahead. Suddenly Kisame was hit in the head with a rock and he looked up just in time to see the young man with the ponytail turn back around. He quickly sped up and was able to reach them with his sword and with one foul swipe he cut the young man in half.

--Page Break--

"How much longer do we need?" Gaara asked as another jutsu struck his slowly weakening barrier.

"Are you almost done Shikamaru-san?" Hinata asked as the form once recognizable as Natsu changed into Shikamaru.



"Just a little longer, I'm almost done!" Shikamaru said, even stiff in his trademark-thinking pose.

A few seconds and jutsu later the Nara's eyes lit up and a smile formed over his face.

"Alright I got it," Shikamaru said. "Gaara when I tell you to let your barrier fall and grab Hinata and she'll form a barrier to protect you guys just in case. Meanwhile Naruto, you need to hold Itachi back for a few seconds while I form my hand signs for my Shadow possession jutsu. Since Natsu's already off to find reinforcements I only need to keep him there for a few minutes but just in case, Hinata I'll need your help by giving me solider pills."

"Hai!" everyone nodded and Shikamaru stood.

--Page Break--

Shikamaru's severed body did not drip blood but instead bugs. Kisame scowled as the surviving bugs swarmed around him viciously. He swatted at them aggravated as the other young man was quickly gaining ground. The shark man grew extremely frustrated and sped up until he was bearing down on the young man who had began to panic slightly. He raised his sword and was about to bring it down but suddenly the woman Natsu jumped in front of the Akatsuki delivering a fire jutsu straight into his face. Shino turned just in time to see the blue skinned Akatsuki retreating. The bug master jumped down from the tree branch and landed on the forest floor.



"Arigotou Natsu-san." Shino said searching around for his Jounin instructor. "Demo you were supposed to be getting hel…"

However the bug master never got to finish his sentence as he tripped over Natsu's severed leg.

--Page Break--

"Ready…go!" Shikamaru cried.

Gaara's shield quickly fell and Hinata grabbed onto him before forming a barrier around them as they fell from the trees. As Itachi was about to swoop down upon them Naruto tackled the Uchiha. They were stuck in a battle of strength, and it seemed as if Naruto would win until Sakura sprinted at him with a kunai.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried before jumping in front of Naruto and getting stabbed in the shoulder.

The Hyuuga reached behind Sakura and quickly knocked her out. Itachi quickly hit Hinata in an attempt to distract the blonde and it worked. However the nine tailed fox also retaliated and he began to transform. Hinata felt herself falling and the sharp pain in her back. Gaara was staring up at her, fear crystal clear in his eyes and what seemed an hour was really only a few seconds. She closed her eyes prepared to die knowing she would never survive the fall without her chakra. But she was halted with a sickening jolt and she writhed trying to see who had caught her.

Naruto's blue eyes were now red and although this should have scared her Hinata had a strange moment of understanding and instead smiled at him. Just then however Kisame burst from the foliage, still swatting at the bugs and almost crashed into Hinata. Naruto however swung her so that they would avoid collision but in doing so he also punctured her skin with his new, longer nails. Although avoiding the collision saved Hinata from bumping into the vicious shark man it did not protect him from colliding into the tree making Naruto drop Hinata. She plummeted to the ground but was caught just in time by Gaara.

"I got him!" Shikamaru cried. "Demo, Hinata! I need those soldier pills."

The Kazekage did not let her go and instead he sent both of them up and onto the tree branch with Itachi and Shikamaru. Hinata quickly reached into her pocket and shoved a soldier pill into Shikamaru's mouth.

Kisame recovered quickly and stood ready to kill the Kazekage but Naruto quickly grabbed Kisame's sword from his own hands and swung the heavy object at the original wielder of the heavy blade. The plan was working decent even with the unexpected arrival of Kisame until a loud cry was heard. Everyone turned to see Shino leap from the bushes with Natsu held securely on his back with one arm while the other was cradling Natsu's bloodied severed leg.

Hinata's heart stopped and she forgot all about the weakening Shikamaru as she looked upon her Jounin instructor with only one leg.



"Hinata!" Shikamaru cried, but Hinata couldn't hear him as she was to focused on the girl hanging limply from Shino's back.

A slap to the face got the girl back into reality and she came face to face with the red Uchiha eyes.

"We will be back." Itachi said before he and Kisame disappeared.

Hinata fell to her knees and began to sob at the sight of Natsu and Shino who was trying to stop the profuse bleeding. Gaara wrapped an arm around Hinata and let her cry. Naruto walked over to Sakura's unconscious body and carried her over his shoulder as he watched Natsu with sadness in his eyes but no other expression. Shikamaru slid down the tree trunk and closed his eyes, but soon felt crushed underneath an unfamiliar pressure and he opened his brown eyes to see Temari hugging him tight.

"I was so worried." Temari said, wetting his shirt from her tears. "You are such an idiot."

Shikamaru stared surprised at the top of her head before he began to laugh, for no reason at all.

"Stop laughing!" Temari cried pounding on his chest. "It's not funny!"



And Shikamaru did stop laughing but only to replace it with slight mewls of pain. Then Temari began to laugh and laid her head gently on his chest.

"I know this isn't the most romantic setting but," Shikamaru began pushing her into a sitting position. "Will you marry me?"

The blonde blinked stupefied and mesmerized at the ring that the young Nara had produced for her.

"Hey," he said, regaining her focus. "This is where you're supposed to say yes."

"Do you really think this is the time?" Temari asked innocently.

"Well I survived a run in with the Akatsuki and Natsu will want some good news." He said sending a glance toward the young woman who was being attended to by the rest of the sand team. "This is as good a time as any."

"Then of course!" Temari said, crying harder now.

**A/N: Yeah I know that the romance between Shika and Temari kinda moved fast but this will pave the way for other romantic drama to occur! Again please review and if you have a pair you want to request for my next story then I will be more than happy to write it for you. However I probably won't start it until I'm finished with this story, which is almost done.**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: I decided that I was going to put in a summery every two chapters so there will be one in the next chapter. This Chapter will have a lot more Gaara Hinata stuff so I hope you enjoy. Take it easy on me because I don't think I'm any good at romance.**

**Chapter: 37**

"Hinata!" Sakura called after the Hyuuga, but the blue haired girl ignored her and continued to run.

The voice's faded slightly but Hinata couldn't suppress the grin on her face as she continued to run, Kazuma cradled in her arms. The cat let out a strangled meow but the teenager ignored it and continued to sprint until she reached the top of a large grassy hill and peered down to the bottom where a young man sat waiting. Hinata frowned and hoped that he wasn't waiting long. As she went to take a hurried step she tripped over a rock and began to roll down the hill. After she had started there was no stopping her and she tried her best to save Kazuma from the brunt of the damage. Finally she came to a stop when she landed on top of the young man at the bottom of the hill.

"Hinata what are you doing?" Gaara asked, raising an imaginary eyebrow keeping his eyes on the girl who was lying on top of him.

"I t-tripped!" Hinata said fighting a blush.

They looked at each other for a moment when Gaara's eyes suddenly looked down at the area where there two bodies met and watched with a small smile as Kazuma struggled to get out from between the tight space. Hinata looked down and She slowly lifted herself slightly and looked down just as Kazuma wriggled out from in between them. Hinata couldn't stop herself from laughing. And her arms grew weak and before long she couldn't hold herself up anymore and 

she fell back on top of the Kazekage. Kazuma let out a loud shriek like meow and darted away. Hinata wasn't able to hide the blush this time. But luckily Gaara was no longer staring at her, he had his eyes closed.

"Gaara, are you ok?" Hinata asked, nervous that she squished him.

"Fine," He groaned.

"Here let me get off!" Hinata said.

"That would be great." He said.

Hinata got to her feet almost immediately and stood off to the side trying to recover from her embarrassment. Gaara was trying to get up when all of a sudden Yuki jumped onto his chest and sat there staring at him, before she meowed. Hinata began to laugh once again, her cheeks stained with a blush.

Gaara also let out a small chuckle, before sitting all the way up and playing with the small white cat. Hinata fell to her knees and then lay on her stomach to play with Kazuma while Gaara remained upright gently playing with Yuki.

"So have you talked with Shikamaru yet?" Hinata asked, looking wearily at Gaara.

The red head stopped playing almost immediately and had to stop himself from growling.

"Oh come on!" Hinata said. "He's a good guy and Temari loves him."

Gaara's face softened slightly but he still had a scowl on.

"I know that but he's not good enough for her." Gaara insisted.



"I know you feel that way right now and I'm sure her and Kankurou will feel the same when you get married but you should at least give her judgment the benefit of the doubt." Hinata said looking up at her companion.

Gaara merely nodded, now distracted by another topic. Hinata watched him for a minute before deciding to change the subject.

"So you're leaving after the festival right?" Hinata asked breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes, and I'm presenting the Jounin's with their vests." Gaara said hiding a smile.

"Oh," Hinata said, sad that she would not be moving up to Jounin even after all the hard work she had put into it.

"Temari wanted me to tell you that she would be coming over to get ready with you in about three hours." Gaara said.

"The sun is really bright." Hinata said trying to shield her eyes.

Gaara watched her for a moment before taking his hat off and putting on top of her head. Hinata tried to give it back but Gaara refused to reclaim it.

"Well if I get to borrow this," Hinata said, reaching up to her neck. "You can wear the Hyuuga family heirloom."

Her hand came back holding a shiny silver chan with the Yin and Yang symbol. She reached around his neck to put it on, but Gaara raised a hand to stop her.

"Come on! Please?" Hinata pouted.

Gaara looked at her warily before letting his hand fall and the Hyuuga beamed while she put it around his neck. Hinata smiled and was about to say something when she heard voices calling for her.

"Hinata!" Naruto's clearly recognizable voice penetrated through the forest.

Hinata looked towards the top of the hill preparing to stand up when she felt a tug on her jacket.

"Stay," the Kazekage ordered.

The Hyuuga nodded and sat back down her eyes never leaving the hill.

"Gaara!" Temari's voice was heard also.

Gaara scowled and Hinata stood up, pulling the Kazekage up with her.

"It's okay, we'll talk later at the festival before you leave." Hinata said hopefully.

Gaara nodded sealing their unspoken promise. They looked down and Hinata grabbed Kazuma while Yuki jumped into Gaara's out stretched arms.

"Hinata!" Naruto called.

"Coming!" Hinata answered, before taking off, only giving the Kazekage a wave.

Gaara watched her go before taking off himself, trying to catch his siblings and guards so that their private place would not be found.

--Page Break--

Hinata ran as fast as her legs could carry her and actually ran into her blonde teammate. They were both sitting on the ground dazed. Kazuma meowed loudly and Hinata was brought out of her daze. The cat jumped from her lap and started pushing the Kazekage hat toward her. She quickly picked it up and examined it for dirt.



"Thank you Kazu-kun!" Hinata said.

She placed the hat on her head once again and looked up into the faces of her stunned Jounin team. Her face turned pink and her gaze fell. Shikamaru burst into laughter and Hinata could also hear Shino's controlled chuckle. Looking up she saw that Naruto and Sakura also began to smile; however neither of them joined in with the other two laughs.

--Page Break--

Gaara was able to pass at least a few dozen trees before his siblings and his guards intercepted him. The red head stopped and crossed his arms over his chest as they all came to a stop in front of him.

"Gaara you can't run off like that!" Temari said.

The Kazekage remained silent, but his sister tried to stare him down, and it was slowly working. But soon her gaze caught something else and her eyes welled with tears.

"Oh my goodness I'm so happy for you!" Temari said practically tackling her younger brother.

Tears began to wet his shirt and he was about to ask why she was crying when he caught sight of the Hyuuga heir loom around his neck and he understood his sisters grave misunderstanding. 

--Page Break--

"Natsu you don't have very good control over your team do you?" Ayame asked holding flyers that Natsu was assigned to put up for the festival.

"Well they're still kids at heart we should give them a break." Natsu said balancing expertly on her crutches while putting up a sign.

Ayame looked at her friend sadly, ever since the loss of her leg Natsu had changed and been calmer than ever before. She decided to say something to cheer her up when someone called for her.



"Ayame- sensei! We need help!" her group of Chunins called.

"Be there in a minute!" Ayame said, feeling slightly ashamed of being happy to leave her best friend. "I'll see you later."

Natsu took flyers from Ayame and tried to hang them herself. A curse passed through her lips as they all fell to the ground. She tilted her crutches and reached for the flyers however her arms were not quite long enough. Tears of frustration filled her eyes and she stood straight preparing to try again when she felt someone trying to hand her the flyers. Her eyes opened, one tear sliding down her cheek.

"Oh Neji-san what are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"I actually came to see you." The young Hyuuga male said standing straight up. "And here I find you, given up ion everything."

"I have nothing to hope for, why shouldn't I give up?" Natsu growled.

"Because nothing is impossible." Neji said, grabbing her hand and squeezing her hand gently.

Natsu looked into the Hyuuga white eyes and thought, maybe just maybe there was some hope after all.

--Page Break--

"Come on Hinata you look great!" Temari cried pulling her friend along behind her.

"I don't think so Temari-chan!" Hinata said, her slightly red skin cooling in the night air.

"Well we can't be late for the ceremony and it's too late to change." Temari said, dragging her friend to the place where they all were supposed to meet.



The boys were already waiting for them; Shikamaru had begun to complain but was cut off just as the two girls arrived. Everyone was speechless at the two girl's attire. Temari wore a black kimono with small white flower designs all over it. Her obi was a deep blood red, and complimented the deep ruby she had used for lip color, her hair hang loose at her shoulders, her complexion was slightly paler then usual and her cheeks had a slight pink.

"What are you staring at?" she teased Shikamaru.

"Nothing special." Shikamaru retorted earning a hard slap from his fiancé.

"You brought that upon yourself Shikamaru." Sakura commented, her bubblegum pink hair matching nicely with her deep red and yellow kimono with a blue obi.

"Yeah I thought I taught you better!" Ino winked her sky blue eyes matching her blue and white kimono.

"Hinata…wow" Naruto simply said, drawing everyone's attention back to the Hyuuga.

She wore a midnight blue kimono with silver designs and similar silver obi. Her indigo hair was held up with a silver hair piece. (Her hair looks kinda like Kikiyo's from Inuyasha but I don't know how to describe it.) Everyone seemed too stunned by her appearance and continued to make her uncomfortable.

"Come on we have to go!" Ino said, drawing away the attention to help her friend. "The Jounin's will be announced soon!"

They all did as they were told and began to walk to the ceremony. However when they got there it had already started. Gaara stared at them as soon as he found them in the crowed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen without further ado, the last Jounin's are Naruto Uzamaki, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga." The Kazekage said clapping for them like the rest of the crowd.

The group of five was all ushered to the stage looking dumbfounded.

"But we didn't even pass the test!" Naruto started.

"You fought Akatsuki Naruto; I think that's enough of a qualification!" Tsunade said, as Gaara approached them with the vests.

Hinata locked eyes with the Kazekage and she could see pride in his eyes and she smiled. After that the crowd cheered as they all slipped the heavy green vests on. Tsunade whistled for silence, and slowly they all stopped clapping.

"I have another announcement!" Tsunade said. "I am retiring from Hokage!"

The crowd remained silent and watched Tsunade carefully as she dragged the moment of silence.

"But I can't leave you guys without a suitable replacement." Tsunade said. "So." She continued placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Starting now this is your Hokage in training."

Naruto's eyes lit up and the tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Really Oba-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Really Naruto." Tsunade said.

The blonde stood there stupefied for a minute before wrapping his arms around Hinata who was standing next to him, and he began jumping up and down excited. Hinata began to turn her head and congratulate him just as Naruto went to land a kiss on her cheek and instead their lips met just as the stage they were standing on exploded. They flew back in a flurry of flames and splintered wood. Hinata felt something slam against her but she grabbed onto it. When she hit the ground she realized she was up against a tree. Blood dripped from her chin having leaked from her ears and a girl she never seen before rushed over to her screaming things. But Hinata didn't hear anything. Next the girl tried to pry whatever Hinata was holding onto out of her hands. Her eyes fell and she was met with the bruised and bloodied face of Sasuke Uchiha.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I could go into all these excuses but since I know you don't really want to hear about that I'll just end this and update a lot sooner next time! PLEASE REVIEW!! **


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Okay I hope to get this out by Saturday but I don't know how effective this will be so please do not flame me if it sucks. **

**What happened in the last chapter: Gaara and Hinata had a secret rendezvous the morning before the festival to announce the Jounin's. Hinata and her team all passed and Naruto is to begin his training as Hokage. However the stage they had all been standing on exploded. And Sasuke's back!? **

**Disclaimer: :(**** (yes stare on in envy of my awesome frown face!)**

**Chapter: 38**

The Hyuuga was a very prideful family. Everything they had was the best, the best ninja, the best houses and even the best servants. Hinata sighed, wondering why everything had to be a contest with her family. Her pale feet were dipped into their small koi pond and she frowned, knowing that even the garden that she sat in was a show of Hyuuga pride. She felt movement next to her and she looked up to see her younger sister carrying a tray with tea and cookies for them to share. Hannabi set the tray down, placed her own feet in the pond before serving her sister some tea.

"Thank you." Hinata said graciously accepting the cup.

"You're welcome," Hannabi mouthed slowly so her sister could read her lips.



Hinata nodded before adjusting the bandages covering her ears. Tsunade had healed her ears but had told her to keep them covered for a while, and the thick gaze didn't allow her to hear anything. Luckily her Hyuuga eyes didn't fail her and she could read peoples lips. She looked down at her tea and fought a grimace.

It was thick and goopy, but it was also the first time her sister had ever made tea and it would be rude for her to dispose of it. Taking a deep breath she drank it all in one gulp. The taste was extremely bitter, resembling that of cough syrup but she kept her sweet smile on her face.

"I'm glad you like it!" Hannabi mouthed excitedly. "I'll go get you some more!"

Hinata wasn't able to catch everything her younger sister said but she could guess. She was about to call out to her but she was already back in the house. She decided to kick her legs while waiting. Suddenly she felt dizzy and her stomach dropped. Quickly she crawled over to the bushes and vomited. Her hair was tugged back gently and when she looked up Neji was there, standing over her and looking worried.

"It's time to go see Tsunade." He mouthed over dramatically.

She smiled, stood up and allowed herself to be led away by her cousin to the Hokage tower where she would have her check up.

--Page Break--

"Oba-chan!!" Naruto whined as he signed another paper. "I thought you were going to teach me how to be Hokage!"

"I am teaching you to be Hokage." Tsunade said sipping idly at a glass of Sake. "Paper work is essential for the strict diet of a village leader."

"When can I do something cool like questioning those ninja's from sound?" Naruto asked.

The room fell silent and Tsunade stared into her Sake cup as if looking for answers. Suddenly the clock on the wall struck noon.

"Come on Naruto." Tsunade said placing her cup down and striding towards the door.

"We're going to do something fun now?" he asked excitedly.

"Nope, there is a checkup I have to make and a meeting we have to attend. " Tsunade said.



Naruto groaned but followed his superior out of the office.

--Page Break--

"Gaara the meeting starts in a few minutes!" Temari urged him.

"Yes and I may take my time." Gaara said sitting back in his office chair gazing out the window.

"No you can't!" Temari said pulling at her younger brothers sleeve.

"Why not?" he asked boredly.

"Because we have to work on the speech you're going to use to get me and Shikamaru's engagement cleared!" Temari said desperately.

"Shikamaru and I." Kankurou corrected primly.



Temari looked as if she was about to punch him in the face, but Gaara stopped her.

"You both need to calm down," Gaara said sagely. "I know what to say Temari."

"Are you sure?" Temari said fretting her bottom lip with her teeth. "I know you don't like him and this is a hassle, I can appeal to the council myself and…"

Gaara raising his hand and silencing her cut off Temari. He turned away so he could continue to prepare for his meeting by picking up a small paper.

_Flash Back_

_Gaara sat next to the hospital bed that Hinata slept comfortably in his hand he held a scroll and a bunch of papers with four pens and one pencil. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the Hyuuga to wake._

"_Gaara are you ok?" Hinata asked louder than usual. "Do you need me for something?"_

_Gaara nodded and pointed to the papers before beginning a bunch of strange movements hoping to depict what he needed from her. Hinata didn't understand at all but began to laugh and clap._

"_Gaara-kun I can read lips, just talk to me. No need for charades." Hinata said._

_Gaara looked deadpan but followed his friend's orders, feeling resentment towards his stupidity. _

"_I need to write a speech trying to convince the council to accept Shikamaru's and Temari's engagement. I don't see what you see but I'm willing to give them a chance, so will you help me write something about them that will convince the council?" Gaara asked._

_Hinata smiled softly and appreciatively, before leaning across the bed and giving Gaara a hug. _

"_Of course, where do I start?" Hinata asked, again her voice becoming a little louder each time she spoke._

_Gaara handed her a pen and then held out all the paper to her, Hinata giggled at the high stack._

"_Gaara-kun I'm not writing a book," Hinata joked before picking a small sheet of white paper._

_End Flashback_

"I have everything I need right here." Gaara commented.

"Gaara-sama the meeting is about to start." An anbu said, peeking his head through the door.

"Thank you." Gaara said before nodding to his two siblings and leaving his office.

--Page Break--

"All right Hinata say 'ah'" Tsunade said opening her own mouth as an example.



Hinata opened her mouth and Tsunade checked her tonsils and everything. When she finished checking she smiled.

"Now I'm going to check your ears," she said motioning to her own and Hinata nodded before turning sideways.

Tsunade gently unwrapped the bandages and it felt as if Hinata was pulled out of a coffin. She heard everything, even Naruto's breathing as he sat across the room on another examination table. Her heart pounded, she had no idea why but she was suddenly afraid, all the noises rushing at her at once. Both hands flew to her ears and bringing her knees up, before hiding her face. Tsunade saw her panicked expression and was about to go and comfort her but Naruto beat her to it. He hugged her and slowly tried to adjust her to the loud noises.

"Hinata?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai Tsunade-sama?" Hinata asked, in her normal voice.

Tsunade smiled and grabbed the Hyuuga's hands. Naruto looked up at his mentor in gratitude for letting him come with her for this check up.

"It seems that your ears have healed extremely well and extremely fast, I'd say you no longer need bandages." Tsunade said.



Hinata's face creased into a worried expression, she fidgeted slightly, which Tsunade didn't miss.

"What's wrong Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked.

She looked down at her stomach and crossed her hands over her naval. Tsunade understood but Naruto looked at them curios.

"Alright I'll rewrap your ears." Tsunade said producing a gauze bandage.

"Demo I thought you said she was healed?" Naruto asked confused.

"She is, it's more of a…precaution." Tsunade said continuing to loosely wrap the bandages around her head.

"I still don't get it…" Naruto said.



"You don't have to get it," Tsunade said finishing.

Hinata stood up and was about to leave when Tsunade stopped her.

"Hinata, we're about to go and see the sound ninja I would like you to come." Tsunade said.

Hinata nodded and walked with Naruto and Tsunade to the large medical room where all the sound ninja were located.

--Page Break--

"Gaara-sama you said you had something to say before the council made it's final decision on Temari-sans, and Shikamaru-sans marriage." One elder said. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Gaara said rising from his seat, clenching the small paper in his hand, the words had been memorized.

Temari shifted uncomfortably and grabbed Kankurou and Matsuri's hand, all of them honorary guests, brought in for this specific decision.



The Kazekage closed his eyes and took a deep breath preparing to make is speech.

_Flashback_

"_Done!" Hinata said, handing him the paper._

"_But it's so short," he said blandly. _

"_The size of it doesn't matter!" Hinata said astounded. "It's the words!"_

"_Are you sure?" Gaara asked._

"_Positive," Hinata reassured. "It will mean so much more coming from you though."_

_Gaara nodded and reread the words._

_End flashback_

--Page Break--

When they opened the door to the large medical room Naruto had to duck as a kunai was thrown at his head.

"Hey watch where you're throwing your shit!" Naruto cried.

"Watch where you're putting your damn head stupid!" a young man cried from across the room.

"Suigetsu calm yourself," an older man said.

"Shut up, Jugo." Suigetsu said.

The older man looked as if he was going to rise and punch him in the face but was cut off by a choked female voice from across the room.



"Will you both shut up!" the girl cried. "Sasuke-kun is waking up because of you idiots!"

The two young men were silenced and they all turned to the bed where Sasuke was laying. Tsunade pushed her way into the room and walked over to the bed. She examined the Uchiha for a few minutes while Hinata and Naruto stood there uncomfortably.

"Uchiha-san!" Tsunade said loudly, as the young man twitched. "Uchiha-san wake up!"

Sasuke's coal black eyes opened slowly and he gazed at the two women over him. The girl beside the bed began to shake with sobs of joy, while Tsunade continued her check up.

"Uchiha-san, I will have to ask you a few questions." Tsunade said.

She received no response, the Uchiha's hard gaze remaining the same.

"Uchiha-san if you don't answer me I will have no choice but to execute you." Tsunade said, but the fear of death drove him no closer to speaking. "Naruto, you try."



Naruto quickly jumped into action, walking to the bedside without a second thought. Hinata was now left by the door, the gazes from the other sound ninja on her. Suddenly the girl appeared in front of her.

"What are you idiots doing?" she asked.

"Staring at the fresh meat," Suigetsu smirked.

"She is very interesting, especially those eyes of hers." Jugo responded.

"Just leave her alone," the girl said.

"You can't make me," Suigetsu taunted.

"Yes I can!" she threatened popping her knuckles.

"Fine fine! I'll stop." Suigetsu said. "Prude." He murmured under his breath.



"What was that?" the girl snapped.

"Nothing your highness." Suigetsu said sarcastically.

"Suigetsu, you need to stop teasing Karin." Jugo said.

The young man was about to retort when a desperate cry from the other side of the room caught their attention.

"Teme!" Naruto screamed. "You've been gone for over two years and all you can do is stare at me!? Do you know what pain you caused Sakura? What pain you've caused Kakashi? What pain you've caused me?" Naruto said the last part quietly.

The Uchiha did not respond which only angered the blonde. Hinata and Karin acted simultaneously as Naruto raised his fist. In a blink of an eye, Karin had a kunai to the blonde's throat while Hinata was holding his large fist in her slightly smaller hand.

"Put the Kunai away," Tsunade said menacingly.

Karin did as she was told, but still stood uneasily, near Naruto.

"You need to calm down." Tsunade chastised.

"Demo…" Naruto began.

"No buts if you want to be Hokage you need to learn to keep your temper under control!" Tsunade snapped, leading Naruto away from the bed.

Karin looked at Hinata, expecting her to leave with the other two, but she didn't, instead she turned to the Uchiha. They stared at each other for a few minutes before a smirk broke out on the young man's face. Hinata kept her face straight however; as she reached behind her and pulled up the chair Karin was once sitting in.

"Sasuke," she began.

"You've healed quickly." He cut her off in a slightly strained voice.

Everyone sat quietly stunned for a few minutes before he said something else.



"Before it would have taken you forever to heal from something like this." He commented.

"Something I owe your brother," Hinata said, shocking him into silence. "Look, why won't you answer any of their questions? It would just be easier for us all."

Sasuke scoffed and turned his head away from her all seeing eyes.

"It won't benefit me," he said softly.

"What?" Hinata asked, unable to hear him through the unnecessary bandages.

"It won't benefit me!' he said turning back to her.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked confused.

"All it will do is help me into an early grave!" he snapped.



"And since when is the great Sasuke Uchiha afraid of death?" Hinata asked. "You said those with true strength have nothing to fear, not even death!"

He was silenced, but he continued to stare at Hinata in awe.

"You aren't strong Sasuke Uchiha, you are weak, and instead of progressing you have regressed." Hinata said harshly. "Are you the same Sasuke Uchiha, who taught me the Taijutsu that has saved my life? Are you the same Sasuke that taught me friendship doesn't always consist of friendly terms? Or are you the Sasuke Uchiha, who gave up defeating his brother, or the Sasuke who is a coward. Or maybe you're the Sasuke who has succumbed to the life of a no good fugitive."

Silence. Karin was about to explode on Hinata when Sasuke began to laugh. He laughed softly and then slightly louder, stopping soon after because of the pain that shot through his body.

"Alright, I'll answer their damn questions." He said, making Hinata smile. "But I hope you know you're probably just helping me into an early grave."

"Well then tell me Sasuke why do you deserve to live?" Hinata asked.



With a little trouble Sasuke reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a ring. He showed Hinata the symbol making her gasp.

"I have information on this." He said.

--Page Break--

"After I had heard of Nara-san's proposal to my sister I went and saw him to ask him why. Ask him why he deserved her, he is not exceptionally skilled nor is he rich or of any importance in Konoha." Gaara said.

Temari winced at his harsh words not even noticing the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"When I asked these questions he had no response but his words were unnecessary. The shirt he wore was old and torn, his coat worn, and his pants ripped, and his shoes so old and weather beaten that the water passed through them easily." Gaara continued, a wave of regret sweeping over Temari and she closed her eyes. "However I also could see the stars shine through his soul because of his great love."

Temari's eyes snapped open and she stared at Gaara astounded. But he didn't stop there and continued on.



"That day I began to understand what love must be, if it exists. When they are parted, they each feel the lack of the other half of themselves. They are incomplete like a book in two volumes of which the first has been lost. That is what I Imagine love to be like: incompleteness in absence." Gaara stated calmly. "And if someone like myself can see that then not even the heavens can deny the love these two have for each other. Thank you."

Gaara sat down after that, ignoring the clearly visible tears on his older sister's face. Temari felt such love towards her brother it took all her strength not to stand up and embrace him. Matsuri felt her cheeks heat up as she glanced towards the Kazekage, her heart rate accelerated and her heart brimming with love for him. While the girls were in euphoria Kankurou watched the reaction of the council members, some of them were not good.

"Alright." The head elder said, face stony. "It is time for the vote."

All the people sat in the room, held their breath waiting for the elder to continue speaking.

"All against…" he began.

Hands began to rise and in the end six people sat in their seats hands raised. Temari's heart sank, and tears began to flow down her face once again.

"All in favor…" he said.

Another six hands flew into the air Gaara's being first. Temari held her breath realizing that it had come to a tie and a revote would definitely have a bad outcome, and she dropped her eyes to the floor. Suddenly a gasp tore through the room and Temari reluctantly looked up. Chiyo, who never voted on council matters, thinking it was too much to bother with had raised her hand and voted in favor. Temari looked stunned, six voted nay and seven voted yay, which meant…

"It seems," the head elder began. "That Temari-san should prepare, for her wedding."

Temari rocketed out of her chair in gratitude before running over to Chiyo and sobbing on her shoulder. Kankurou hugged Matsuri who rejoiced along with the siblings. Gaara who was still sitting in his chair taking a deep breath, once again Hinata had come through for him.

"Alright alright!" Chiyo cried. "We have more matters to attend to so you three need to leave now."

Kankurou made it to the door and held it open as Matsuri practically danced through it. Temari left Chiyo's side and headed for the door, but not before stopping and hugging Gaara tightly. When the door closed, the elders all turned back to Gaara and the head elder stood up once again.



"While we are on the topic of marriage, you need to be married Kazekage-sama. An heir must be produced, and we would like to know if you have any one in mind." He finished.

Gaara sat there in silence for a few seconds before one name passed through his lips.

"Hinata Hyuuga."

--Page Break--

Two figures wondered through the dessert on their way to Suna. There red and black cloaks flowing in the wind.

"We need to make this quick." The shorter one said.

"I know danna, I know un."

**A/N: Sorry I just love ending in a cliffie! But yeah, I have a feeling a lot of people will not be happy with the next chapter, but be rest assured that it will be very important to the plot. A day late but whatever! Finals start tommorow! But that also means shorter school days for me so expect the next chapter by Friday the latest. PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: YAY SCHOOLS OUT!! I get to update a lot faster now! And as God, and you wonderful wonderful readers as witnesses I will finish this story before I go back to school. Which means those requests I got from people will be worked on as well!**

**Disclaimer: Smooth Criminal hint**

**Chapter: 39**

Gaara sat in his office still stunned from the meeting with the council only a few minutes before.

_Flashback_

"_Hinata Hyuuga."_

_The council was silent for a minute before looking at each other making Gaara suspicious. He opened his mouth to speak when an elder interrupted him._

_End Flashback_

The tower shook violently and Gaara was wrenched from his reverie and he stood to look out the window. An explosion appeared not too far above some of the houses in the village and Gaara's eyes unconsciously widened as he darted from the room heading for the roof to get a better look.

--Page Break--

Hinata walked home trying to ignore the whispers about her as the people continued their daily chores.

"I heard her and the Kazekage have something going on." One older woman whispered to her younger friend.

"Really because I know she's the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, I thought she would marry her cousin." The younger woman answered.

"Yes well I've heard that Sasuke Uchiha is back and he won't settle for anyone but her!' the shop keeper of a nearby stand butted into the conversation.

"Really?" a young girl said. "I thought she was with the Hokage and training, if she's not I still have a chance!"



Hinata sped up and closed her eyes her face red, she had no idea but she felt like she would be sick when they mentioned her marriage possibilities. She didn't know who she actually wanted to marry, and instead just thought it probably meant she wasn't ready for it. Suddenly the sound of a kunai whistling through the air towards her made her turn and catch the small grey dagger.

"I knew it." Shikamaru said, coming from nowhere and taking the knife from Hinata. "Your ears are better."

"Good guess Shikamaru-san," Hinata said smiling.

"I need to talk to you Hinata-san," Shikamaru said glancing at his feet nervously.

"Of course Shikamaru-san what do you need?" Hinata asked.

"We'll see I would usually ask Ino about it but she's in a depression right now and I…" Shikamaru was cut off by Hinata holding a hand out to stop him.

"You need help with the wedding don't you?" Hinata asked.

"Hai," Shikamaru said, scratching the back of his head.

"Well what exactly do you need help with?" Hinata asked again.

"Well I need to find a kimono to match Temari's I need a haircut I need flowers, I need food I nee…" he was stopped by Hinata's soft laughter.

"Why don't we go back to my house and we can talk about it there." Hinata suggested, not dismissing the curious eyes watching them.

"Alright, lead the way." Shikamaru said gesturing in front of him.

Hinata nodded and began to head back to her house.

--Page Break--

"Now you all might be wondering why you're here." Tsunade said looking around at the people crowding the conference table. "Demo this meeting is extremely important; it will decide the future of the village."



The room remained quiet. Tsunade looked over at the Hyuuga elder and head that sat quietly at one end. Next to them sat Karin who was positioned next to Sasuke. On his other side sat Kakashi and Sakura across from them sat the rest of team snake. And Naruto was seated faithfully next to the Hokage, Shizune on the other side.

"What is this meeting about that's so important?" Suigetsu asked.

"It's about," Tsunade glared. "The future of the two greatest clans in Konoha."

All eyes then shifted to Sasuke and Hiashi, but both of them stayed silent and impassive.

"Then why are we here?" Suigetsu asked impatiently.

"To discuss the one matter that will decide this all!" Tsunade snapped frustrated.

"And what is that exactly?" Karin asked.



"The marriage of Hinata Hyuuga." Tsunade said.

--Page Break--

**(A/N: I'm going to try something out now so no flaming if you don't like it; the song is smooth criminal by Alien ant farm)**

Deidara laughed maniacally as another of his clay spiders sent a sand Jounin to his death.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long while un!" he said. "Not since chasing the Hyuuga and her body guards!"

Another explosion sounded and Deidara let out another long laugh.

_As he came into the window _

_It was the sound of _

_A crescendo _

_He came into her apartment  
He left the bloodstains on _

_The carpet_

Sasori watched from his spot at the entrance of the village, next to the Jounin he had under his control.

"Deidara just finish it already." The young man sighed bored even though the blonde wouldn't be able to hear him.

Deidara watched in pleasure as another one of his beautiful creations exploded over the village. Suddenly something caught his eye at the top of the Kazekage tower. He giggled as he turned his bird towards his main target.

_She was sitting at the table  
He could see she was unable  
So she ran into the bedroom  
She was struck down, it was  
Her doom_

He landed safely with his bird on the top of the tower just across from the Kazekage.

"Ah Gaara-chan un!" Deidara teased.



Gaara remained silent and composed, seizing up his opponent. Deidara frowned slightly seeing his taunting wasn't working. Then he got an idea a smile creeping over his face.

"So how's Hinata-chan un?" he asked.

The Kazekage's eyes widened a fraction but Deidara still noticed it and let out another laugh.

"She was cute un," he said as if the Kazekage wasn't there.

_Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK_  
_Are you OK, Annie_

"What do you think un?" Deidara asked turning his attention back to the red head.

"She does not concern you," Gaara said through gritted teeth.

"Oh a little touchy un?" Deidara asked.

"It's not that." Gaara said able to regain composure making Deidara angry. "She has nothing to do with why you're here."

_Annie are you OK  
Will you tell us that you're OK  
There's a sign in the window  
That he struck you - a crescendo Annie  
He came into your apartment  
He left the bloodstains on the carpet  
Then you ran into the bedroom  
You were struck down  
It was your doom_

"Yeah but she would make a great pet wouldn't she un?" he asked, malice evident in his voice.

Suddenly Gaara's sand shot towards him and Deidara had to think fast as he used his bird's wing as a shield. When the onslaught of sand ceased he slowly let his bird lower its wing and a sadistic smile spread over his face.

_Annie are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK Annie  
Annie are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK Annie  
Annie are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK Annie  
You've been hit by  
You've been struck by -_

"Aw did I strike a nerve Gaara-chan un?" Deidara asked, barely blocking another sand attack.

_A smooth criminal_

Then the battle began.

**(A/N: Since I can't describe battles for crap and I don't want to spoil to much of anything the next time you hear about Gaara and Deidara it will be at the end of their battle.)**

--Page Break--

Neji walked next to Natsu through the hall way to the conference room, both laughing slightly loud. Natsu started to tip from lack of balance and Neji quickly scrambled to make sure she didn't fall.

"Are you ok Natsu-san?" Neji asked still keeping her standing upright.

"Yeah, but what is Genma-san and Anko-san doing?" Natsu asked.

Neji looked down the hall towards the two Jounin. They stood with their ears pressed to the conference room door.

"What are you two doing?" Neji asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Anko, Genma, and Ayame who wasn't visible from the floor all glared at the Hyuuga before shushing him and going back to the door. Natsu hobbled over to them and leaned against the door to hear what they were listening to. Her eyes widened and she backed away from the door.

"What is it Natsu-san?" Neji asked, a little worried at the girl's surprised expression.



Suddenly her brow furrowed and she stared angrily at the other three Jounin.

"You filthy rotten cheaters!" she cried.

"SHHHHHHHH!!" they all hissed at once.

"I can't believe your listening in on the meeting!" Natsu hissed back. "I would expect Genma-san and Anko-san to do it but Ayame! I thought you had better morals then that!"

The Jounin stood there in silent shame for a few seconds before Anko looked regretfully up at Natsu.

"We'll make room for you," she offered.

"Move." Was the only thing Natsu said as she pushed herself up against the door.

"Natsu-san I thought you had more morals then that!"Neji said astounded.

"Shh!" Natsu said before going back to listening.

Neji sighed and reluctantly joined them.

--Page Break--

Tsunade looked around the room as it was still quiet. Not even the Hyuuga spoke. Sighing the Hokage stood up.

"Well then it seems I will have to go first." Tsunade began. "I think Hyuuga Hinata should marry Uchiha Sasuke and unite the Hyuuga and the Uchiha clan."

Everyone's heads snapped towards the Hokage.

**meanwhile outside the door**

"HA!" Ayame whispered loudly. "I win!"

"You do not! You said it was going to be someone who would later reveal themselves!" Genma hissed back.

"Well Uchiha-san wasn't there when I said that!" Ayame said.

"She's got you there," Neji said.

"Shut up Neji!" Genma cried.

"SHHHH!" Anko and Natsu hissed.

**Back inside the room**

The room broke out into protests not a minute later. The only two people who stayed quiet was the Hokage and Sasuke.

"You can't! Sasuke is mine!" Karin cried.

"He doesn't deserve anyone!" Suigetsu countered. "And how is he supposed to hold up his end of the bargain when he's tied down to some broad!"

"I say we kill him!" Jugo sadistically offered.

"She is our heiress and we get to decide who she marries!" the elder of the Hyuuga clan shouted in his old weak voice.

"Hinata doesn't love him!" Sakura said.

"We should let him decide!" Kakashi insisted.

"Hinata should have a choice to!" Naruto retorted.

"Tsunade-sama what are you thinking!?" Shizune asked from her side.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" the Hokage cried making the room go silent once again. "The only person I haven't heard from is Sasuke, well Uchiha-san?"



All eyes were drawn to Sasuke and the Uchiha glared at the Hokage before becoming impassive once again.

"Yeah," he said simply.

"Yeah what?" Tsunade said, through gritted teeth as everyone was on the edge of their seats.

"I'll marry Hinata." Sasuke clarified.

"WHAT!?" Almost all the occupants of the room shouted.

"Demo what about Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke you don't have to do this out of duty you know!" Sakura said.

"Why would you marry someone like her?" Karin asked.



"I have made my decision," Sasuke said holding his hand up to silence them.

"Sasuke you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Tsunade said.

"No, I actually can't really think of anyone else to rebuild my clan with so it's fine." Sasuke said crossing his arms.

"Any other opinions?" Tsunade asked.

"We'll go next," Stated Hiashi. "Due to Hyuuga clan rules she will have to marry another of the clan."

**Outside the room**

"What was it about that theory Ayame?" Genma chuckled watching the girl flush.

"That Hyuuga clan member will be…me," Neji said, making Natsu turn to him a little worried.



**Back inside the room**

"We have chosen Neji because of his strength," the elder concluded.

Everyone was silent at the table already predicting this. All except Naruto.

"What about Hinata? What about what she wants?" asked the blonde.

"This meeting has been decided boy!" the elder hissed. "Hinata will marry Neji and that is final."

With that the Hyuuga's stood to go as they opened the door the five Jounin fell into the room. Everyone looked at them in shook. Neji was the first to stand and he hung his head in shame as his uncle approached him.

"Neji I hope you know that there will be a punishment waiting for you when we get back to the compound." Hiashi said calmly.

"Yes uncle," Neji said leaving with his family.

Natsu stood next watching him go.

"Ha I WIN!!" cried Genma. "Fork your money over!"

"No!" Natsu said rounding on him. "In fact I say we make it a little more interesting."

"How?" Ayame asked.

"I'll put 6,000 on my guess," Natsu said, stunning everyone.

"Do you really have that much faith in your bet?" Anko asked.

"Yes and if you don't fold now." Natsu said.

There was silence for a moment before Genma grinned and gave his hand to Natsu.

"Alright I'm game." He said.

"So am I," Ayame said.

"Chicken Anko?" Genma asked when the spunky Jounin didn't say anything.

"You wish!" she growled. "I'm in!"

"Good!" Natsu said not noticing the angry Hokage standing behind them.

--Page Break--

Hinata opened the door to the manor and let Shikamaru in before entering the kitchen seeing her sister sitting at the counter.

"Hi Hinata-nee," Hannabi said slowly.

Hinata waved before going to find the tea kettle. Hannabi quickly jumped down from her chair and ran to her sibling.

"I'll do it!" Hannabi said taking the pot from her sister.

Hinata thanked her, making sure to make it sound like she still couldn't hear her sister to well. When she left the kitchen she saw Shikamaru sitting at the table, anxiously awaiting her return.

"Okay Shikamaru-san, first we'll talk about the food." Hinata began.

"Well Temari is going to be wearing a white kimono with beaded swans, and an off white lake." Shikamaru said.

"Okay then you should wear a black kimono," Hinata contemplated.

"Doesn't that seem a little depressing?" Shikamaru grumbled.



"No!" Hinata insisted. "It makes a beautiful contrast!"

Shikamaru continued to listen to her speech about how the theme should be black and white to show the bright contrast they had for each other and what a beautiful combination they make.

"I'm thirsty," Hinata commented out loud. "I'll go and check on the tea."

When she first entered the kitchen the tea sat on a tray on the counter she went to go get it but Hannabi whose back was to her returned with a box and began to dump its content in the kettle.

"Oh big sister," Hannabi said idly to herself but Hinata heard and she couldn't help but smile at her sisters generosity. "You will be gone soon."

Hinata's smile faded and she felt as if she would faint when she noticed the big black lettering on the box. **RAT POISON**.

--Page Break--



"You cannot beat me," Gaara said. "Give up."

"You're right I can't beat you un," Deidara panted. "Demo I can do the next best thing un."

With a few hand seals a huge bird that Gaara had never seen before. It immediately took flight and hovered over the central part of the village. The Kazekage took a step forward.

"Ah ah ah!" Deidara said. "One more step and I'll blow up the village un."

"Then what do I have to do to stop you?" Gaara asked, trying to find a way out of this.

But little did the Kazekage now a small bomb was situated behind him and Deidara blew it up knocking the Kazekage unconscious. Lifting him onto one of his birds Deidara flew himself and the Kazekage down to his partner.

"We need to hurry up," Sasori warned.

"Hai danna, let's go un," and Deidara led the way back into the desert from where they came.

**A/N: Heres an extra long chapter for you guys so please forgive this last slow update. REVIEW PLEASE!! AND I WANT TO THANK ALL YOU AWESOME PEOPLE IN CELEBRSTION OF 805 REVIEWS!!**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Second Chapter of the week!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**What happened in the last chapter: Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki. Hinata's marriage was decided. And Hinata found out that her younger sister was poisoning her!**

**Chapter: 40**

"H-hanabi!" Hinata cried catching her younger sister's attention.

The younger Hyuuga gasped and turned the box of poison still in her hand. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Hanabi dropped the box, spilling it everywhere, and dashing outside.

"What's going on in here?" Shikamaru asked, bursting into the room alarmed.

Hinata turned to him, tears in her eyes before she too ran out the door. Shikamaru watched stunned until his eyes were drawn to the spilled box of rat poison and his mind quickly 

calculated what had happened. He too soon dashed out the door, heading straight for the Hokage tower.

"Hanabi why?" Hinata sobbed falling to her knees after her sister stopped running.

Hanabi turned back to her sister, disgusted. Hinata's tears stopped when she saw the look on the younger girls face.

"Why?" Hanabi asked her sister.

Hinata nodded, her eyes producing more tears. Hanabi approached her sister this time and crouched down to her sibling's eye level.

"Because I hate you!" Hanabi hissed slapping her sister hard.

Hinata looked up in shock and hurt as one of her hands covered the slowly reddening spot on her cheek. Hanabi simply spat at her older sister.

"You're weak and useless! Not even worthy of being clan heir!" Hanabi continued.

"Why didn't say anything!?" Hinata cried. "Why does it have to be this way?"

"What would it have changed?" Hanabi asked.

Hinata sat there for a minute realizing her sister was right.

"But none of that matters now," Hannabi said as Hinata looked up at her. "Because now one of us is going to die, right here and right now."

"No!" Hinata cried. "I won't hurt you Hanabi."

Her sister didn't say anything as she approached. She grabbed her sister's loose hair and pulled her to her feet also loosening the bandages around her ears and making them fall to the ground.

"Well then it looks as if you'll be the one to die." Hanabi said sliding into her stance.

--Page Break--

"Neji you know that if you wanted to be included in the meeting I would have arranged it." Hiashi said calmly.

"I know uncle," Neji answered.

"But I am glad that I will be the first to tell you and Hinata of your engagement." Hiashi said smiling.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji began. "Hinata-sama is my younger cousin and I will always protect her, demo…" he began but was cut off by Hiashi.

"Exactly why I chose you," Hiashi said. "You have proved yourself more worthy than anyone else that you can take care of her."

"Yes but Hiashi-sama, I don't think I can take care of her like a husband would or should." Neji said.

"What are you trying to say Neji?" Hiashi asked all of the sudden.



"Well," Neji began swallowing hard. "I'm saying that I don't think that Hinata and I should be married."

"Do you not want this proposal?" Hiashi asked.

"Well, I don't want to be ungrateful Hiashi-sama…" Neji tried.

"Then don't be," Hiashi stated coldly. "You will marry the heiress to the Hyuuga clan and that's that."

Neji opened his mouth to speak again when he caught sight of the manor and his two cousins standing in the front yard. He activated his Byakugan catching the attention of his uncle. His keen eyes caught that Hannabi was the only one in a gentle fist stance while Hinata stood there sobbing.

"Uncle," Neji said suddenly. "There is something wrong."

"Yes I know, I have sensed it in the air." Hiashi said.

They both quickly sped up leaving the silent elder to walk the rest of the way at his own pace.

--Page Break--

"Oh no oh no oh no!" Kankurou said to himself as he sprinted for the gate where the Akatsuki just left.

When he got there however he stopped and looked on in horror at the dead bodies of Suna Jounin. He took a deep breath before he started to run again. Hoping that he would catch up with the Akatsuki and save his little brother.

--Page Break--

"Thank you Uchiha-san for answering all our questions," Tsunade remarked.

"My pleasure," Sasuke snorted.

Karin sat in silence next to him looking sadly up at him. However a fast moving chakra made itself known to her.



"Someone's coming," She said quietly.

"What was that?" Suigetsu asked loudly. "I can't hear you! You've never talked this quite before."

"Shut up," Jugo warned. "You're only going to make things worse."

"No! Because she needs to know that if she wants to fricken talk she needs to be loud!" Suigetsu said. "Hey KARIN BE LOUDER!!"

"Shut the hell up Suigetsu!" she screamed, losing her temper. "I said there's somebody fricken coming this WAY!!"

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmmm," Karin said closing her eyes. "Male, in his late teens, and he's anxious about something."

"Shikamaru," Natsu said.

"CLEAN!" the Hokage cried, as the four Jounin who had been eavesdropping quickly went back to cleaning Tsunade's office.

Just then the office door was banged open and Shikamaru dashed in just like Natsu and Karin predicted.

"What's wrong Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked.

"Hanabi's been poisoning Hinata," Shikamaru panted.

"What!?" Naruto and Natsu cried at once.

"Shut up and come on!" Tsunade said, standing and grabbing a small medical bag as she dashed out the door, Natsu, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, Jugo Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin following her.

"Did Natsu just leave us to clean this up?" Genma asked.

"Looks that way," Ayame sighed.



"SON OF A!!" Genma cried.

--Page Break--

"Rejoice my children," Hiashi said, opening the gate, trying to ignore the tense atmosphere between the two sisters. "Hinata's marriage has been decided."

Hanabi turned to her father and cousin beaming while Hinata tried to dry her tears.

"W-what?" Hinata asked.

"We have picked your future husband," Hiashi said, glancing over at his nephew.

Neji took the hint and approached Hinata before bowing low before her and then standing straight.

"It will be an honor being your husband Hinata-sama." He said quietly, his tone slightly sad.



"What!?" Hinata cried, backing a step away from her cousin.

"I will be your husband Hinata-sama." Neji said looking at her.

Hinata shook her head slowly, but Neji nodded trying to prove to her that what he was saying was real. Suddenly her eyes caught the form of Hanabi racing towards them a chakra filled palm at the ready.

"Neji look out!" Hinata cried pushing her cousin away and getting hit in the ribs.

She felt them crack as unknown chakra scorched through her every nerve. The bracelet on her wrist immediately twisted protectively around her arm, distracting her.

--Page Break--

**(A/N: Time for some comic relief!)**

"Oh look Danna shiny un!" Deidara said pointing to the silver bracelet around the unconscious Kazekage's wrist.



"Don't touch it Deidara," Sasori warned.

The blonde pouted at his superior for a minute before sticking out his tongue **(from the mouth on his face!) **and touching it. He yelped and withdrew his hand quickly.

"I told you **NOT** to touch it." Sasori sighed.

--Page Break--

"Hinata-sama!" Neji cried as Hanabi aimed another attack at her sister.

Hinata barely dodged and she began to run from her sibling. Hiashi shouted commands at his youngest daughter but she didn't even spare him a glance. The elder girl continued running, leading her sister away from the Hyuuga compound and only stopping when she ran into Naruto.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked, as the rest of the group from the Hokage office tried to catch a glimpse of the Hyuuga. "Are you okay?"



Quickly she stood and turned just in time as Hanabi went to land another gentle fist attack at her sister.

"How dare you!" Hanabi growled as her sister quickly closed the chakra holes in her wrists.

"You took everything away from me! My title! My life! My husband! My father!"

"Hanabi Onegai!" Hinata begged, tears continuing to fall from her eyes.

"No! Hanabi cried aiming a kick at her sister's face.

Hinata quickly grabbed her foot with her hands and flipped Hanabi onto her stomach on the ground. Her younger sister got up, hate gleaming in her eyes.

"Will it make you happy if we fight Hanabi?" Hinata asked, just as her father and cousin arrived.

"More than anything!" Hanabi cried. "To prove that you're useless and that I deserve title of heiress!"



"Then," Hinata said slowly. "We'll fight."

"Good! Then we can be done with this quickly!" Hanabi snapped as the feeling was returning to her hands and wrists.

Hinata looked up at her sister, no more tears falling from her eyes, instead a determined look replacing them. Slowly both Hyuuga sisters went to their gentle fist stances and the battle began.

--Page Break--

Kankurou finally caught up with the Akatsuki. He noticed his brothers unconscious form slung over a bird not flying to far over his head.

"Who the heck are you un?" Deidara asked annoyed.

"Kankurou Sabuku and I want my brother back!" Kankurou shouted.

"Deidara," Sasori said from inside his scorpion like puppet. "Take the Kazekage ahead I will catch up with you momentarily."

"If you say so un," Deidara said shrugging, before turning away, the bird with Gaara on it following close behind.

Kankurou tried to make a dash for it but Sasori's scorpion tail lashed out at him.

"Now that's just rude," the young man said. "I told my partner to leave so we could have our own battle and you try to go off and fight him instead."

"This battle will be over quick anyway!" Kankurou scowled, revealing crow.

He sent his puppet out but it got easily knocked away. Kankurou growled in frustration and sent crow out once again. Once more it only took a few minutes for it to be knocked back.

"You are a foolish child," Sasori said as crow came to attack for the third time.

The scorpion tail poised up for a second before attacking crow in a particular spot. For a minute it stayed motionless before it fell apart. Kankurou gasped and pulled it back.

"What are you!?" he cried.



"A simple puppet master," Sasori chuckled. "Like yourself."

With a scowl Kankurou unveiled his next puppet. His alligator moved quickly trying to catch the scorpion puppet off guard. But again it was swatted away like a fly. Then in another split second that puppet also collapsed. Quickly Kankurou pulled out his next and last puppet.

"I'm done playing games," the scorpion puppet said bored, before striking the puppet and making it fall apart.

"Who the hell are you?" Kankurou asked alarmed.

"Sasori of the red sand," he replied simply, receiving a gasp from the other puppet wielder. "And the maker of all of those puppets."

Kankurou gasped just as the scorpion tail aimed for him. He was able to dodge it and dashed backwards. Sasori scoffed as the tip of the scorpion posed for another strike. Reaching into his kunai pouch Kankurou glanced back at the puppet. This time when the puppet stretched out its long tail, Kankurou dodged and tried to slice through it with the Kunai, but it was unsuccessful and he had to quickly roll away as it aimed at him again. The next stab came quite close but also gave Kankurou the time to cut off the tip of the scorpion tail.

"Ha!" Kankurou yelled in triumph.

Sasori then began to laugh, it started low but became louder and louder making Kankurou scowl.

"What are you laughing at creep!" Kankurou shouted.

But instead of being answered by a voice he felt a hot stinging pain in his back. He pitched forward and he saw the tip of the scorpion tail reattaching with the rest of the puppet.

"I'll be back with reinforcements!" Kankurou threatened as he backed away.

"I'm sure you will," Sasori answered calmly as Kankurou sped back towards his village.

Slowly Sasori turned and began to follow his partner, when he caught up the blonde looked at him wearily.

"Danna don't you think that was a little careless of you un?" Deidara asked.

"No why?" Sasori asked.

"Because we were supposed to do this without anyone following us un, isn't he going to tell everyone about us?" Deidara asked.

"No," Sasori answered.

"Why not un?" Deidara asked.

"Because he won't make it back alive," Sasori said.

That's when Deidara noticed the blood staining the tip of the scorpion tail and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Very clever Danna, very clever un."

--Page Break--

"Face it Hinata!" Hanabi said triumphantly. "You can't beat me at the gentle fist!"

Hinata skidded away from her sibling just as another blow had struck her gut. Thunder raged over the two sister's heads as rain clouds gathered. Hinata aimed a gentle fist attack at her sister's midsection but hanabi was able to dodge it easily. Everyone watched uneasily as the two sisters fought, no one daring to say a word. The elder girl was able to land a nice hit on Hanabi's side, only to be met with three more strikes for her trouble. Hanabi jumped back a few feet to examine her sister.

"Are you even trying to hit me?" she asked enraged.

Hinata didn't answer her and instead ran at her with another hit. This time Hanabi didn't move, and instead held her arms out, waiting for her sister to hit her in the chest. Hinata gasped at this and quickly swerved away from her younger sister.

"So you're not trying?!" Hanabi screamed. "What are you? Playing with me!?"

Hinata was about to say something when Hanabi ran at her slapping her in the face and striking her heart with a powerful hit. Just as if someone had rewound time blood spilled out of Hinata's lips and onto Hanabi's arm.



"I will not be made a fool of!" Hanabi cried again, backing away to give her sister a little room.

'_Are you kidding me!' _Hinata's inner demon growled._ 'Why aren't you doing anything?'_

'_Hanabi is my little sister' _Hinata defended._ 'I can't hurt her.'_

'_She's hurting you! She doesn't seem to care that you are her older sister!'_ the demon roared back.

'_I WILL NOT hurt my little sister.'_ Hinata said teary once again, as Hanabi came back for another attack. _'If it makes her happy I will let her destroy me.'_ With that her eyes closed.

'_Kit if you will do nothing about it then I will!'_ the demon warned.

Hinata's eyes opened and her arms slowly and shakily rose before slowly forming hand signs. Sasuke recognized them immediately.

"Fireball jutsu," he said catching everyone's attention.



"What do you mean?" Hiashi asked worriedly.

"Hinata is about to perform a fireball jutsu and smoke her sister, that's what it means!" Suigetsu answered. "I wish I brought popcorn!"

The other sound ninja received glares from the rest of them before their attention was brought back to the battle when they heard Hinata's loud sobbing.

"Please! I beg….you don't!" Hinata sobbed her arms shaking as if she was fighting some unknown force.

The seals were completed and her hand was lifter to her mouth before it opened. And a large fireball came out.

"NO!!" Hinata screamed.

Luckily Hanabi was able to move out of the way just in time as the fireball hit a tree. The plant was immediately set ablaze and Hanabi smirked in triumph.

"Guys you need to stop this battle now!" Sakura cried.



"Yes Hinata I must check your injuries you might be really hurt!" Tsunade said.

When neither sister responded, Neji and Shikamaru tried to approach them and stop the fight but the fire seemed to leap from the tree and surround the two Hyuuga sisters in a blazing ring.

"Don't interfere!" Hanabi and Hinata said in unison.

"Hanabi," Hinata began. "I want you to answer a few of my questions, before the battle continues."

"Fine!" Hanabi spat. "It won't stop the fact that I'll still beat you!"

"When did you start poisoning me?" Hinata asked.

"Over two years ago," Hanabi said. "You probably only survived by puking it back up."

"How did you get it to me in Suna?" Hinata asked.



"Care Packages." Hanabi answered simply. "I even put some in some of Neji's care packages."

"Why not just kill me with a quicker poison?" Hinata asked again her voice still even.

"It would have been suspicious." Hanabi answered quickly.

"What did you mean when you said I stole father and I stole your husband?" Hinata finally asked.

"Father loves you so much more than me," Hanabi said, getting slightly choked up. "You're his eldest. His successor. He let you have so many things! You know what I get to look forward to when I'm 18? The cursed seal!" this time the tears also flowed down Hanabi's face."And I love Neji!"

Hinata looked completely stunned, leaving her composed mask with that last comment.

"Oh don't pretend like you don't know!" Hanabi spat. "Do you remember how long I stayed with him in the hospital after he fought that sound ninja? Do you remember how all those times you two would talk I would drag you away? Are you so blind? But you were even his favorite! Perfect little Hinata."



"Hanabi," Hinata said her tears beginning again. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you! I would never let them put the curse seal on you, and if I knew your feelings for Neji I…"

"Stop!" Hanabi roared, "I will not let **you** take pity on me! You're weak and worthless! And I am about to prove that!"

Hanabi charged but as he was about to hit her sister Hinata blocked with her leg and looked at Hanabi with fierce eyes. Suddenly she knocked Hanabi away.

"Hanabi I do love you and I would never wish harm onto you." Hinata said looking down at her sister. "But I am not weak, and I am not worthless." She said lifting Hanabi up by her wrist. "And it is my job as an older sister to show that to you."

Hanabi tried to hit Hinata with the other but her sister quickly grabbed that one as well.

"And I will admit that you are better at the gentle fist then I am," Hinata said. "However I will be better at Taijutsu then you will ever be!"

With that she lifted her leg and kicked Hanabi in the gut the force sending her flying backwards. Sasuke who watched from the side lines smirked proudly.



"Where did she learn that garish technique from?" Hiashi asked.

"From me," Sasuke responded quickly like a proud teacher should. "Do you have a problem?"

"No," the Hyuuga said turning away from the younger man.

Hanabi slowly got up with a little difficulty before pouncing back at her sister. Hinata no longer hesitated and punched her sister in the face using the force from the others attack. Hanabi backed away holding her nose that had started to bleed. This time Hinata went on the offensive and ran at her sister. Hanabi was able to deflect the first kick and even the second one, but she couldn't avoid the upper cut that hit her squarely in the jaw. A strange feeling suddenly overtook Hinata and the Heiress to the Hyuuga clan no longer took mercy on her younger sister. As Hanabi was trying to get up Hinata delivered a hard kick to her side before placing the other foot on her siblings head and grounding her face into the dirt. Then she leaned over and lifted her sibling punching her in the gut and preparing to end her sister's life with a final punch to the skull.

Suddenly a raindrop fell from the sky and landed on Hinata's ready fist and it shocked the Hyuuga back into reality. She looked down in horror at her sister's battered and bloody body and she couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes.

"Hanabi?" Hinata asked. "H-hanabi?"

But she received no answer from the barely conscious girl. The rain then began to pour down on the small battlefield. Hinata fell to her knees holding her sisters unconscious body and crying. Slowly the rain made the fire ring dissipate and everyone ran in to find out the results of the battle. Tsunade and Sakura ran over to them and the Hokage had to pry the girl away from Hinata's arms.

"No," Hanabi mumbled. "Let me die, I have brought dishonor to my family."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Tsunade said, knocking the girl unconscious so she could heal her easier.

Natsu ran to Hinata's side and tried to comfort her but Hinata continued on sobbing.

"Hinata," Neji said in awe and shock.

"Daughter," Hiashi said his voice the same as it has always been. "I am proud of you and I know you will make a great clan head."

"What are you talking about?" Hinata demanded standing. "I just beat my sister to a bloody pulp and you're congratulating me?"

"Hanabi was your enemy and she took the risk, you were able to look past your family bonds and defeat her." Hiashi stated.



"You've turned us into monsters!" Hinata cried, silencing everyone. "Look at her!" She said pointing at Hanabi. "You turned her into a monster that only cares about pleasing you and earning honor by hurting others! I'm even a monster! I was able to do that to my own younger sister! And you!" she shouted pointing at her father. "You are an even worse monster! Hanabi told me about the curse seal you were going to put on her when she turns 18!"

"But it is the Hyuuga way," Hiashi defended. "It cannot be changed!"

"Then I don't want to be a Hyuuga!" Hinata cried. "I will not be in a clan who treats its children like…this! I'm sorry father," Hinata continued. "I am grateful for all that you have done and given me and I will always bare the Hyuuga name with love and pride, but I will not be a part of this clan."

"W-what are you saying?" Hiashi asked stunned.

"I'm saying that I am no longer going to be the head of the clan," Hinata said. "Instead I turn it over to Neji, he's a better leader then me anyway." Hinata finished limping away from the group of stunned ninja's.

"Are you sure about this?" Hiashi questioned.

"I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life." Hinata said, before continuing to walk away.

"Wait Hinata!" Natsu said, hobbling over to her.

"Yes Natsu-san?" Hinata asked.

"Well now that you're no longer 'in' the Hyuuga clan, you'll need somewhere to stay right?" Natsu asked, smiling proudly at her comrade.

"Yes, thank you Natsu-san." Hinata said smiling.

"Hey if we're going to be roommates no more of that Natsu-san crap okay?" Natsu said leading the way towards said apartment.

"Whatever you say Natsu-chan," Hinata giggled following her.

--Page Break--



Kankurou barely made it to the Kazekage tower before he knew he would not be able to move anymore.

"Kankurou!" Temari cried as she found her brother passed out on the steps. "What happened to you?"

"Poisoned," he choked out. "Gaara taken by the Akatsuki."

Then the puppet master passed out, Temari tried shake her brother awake but that proved futile.

"I need a Medic over here!" she screamed.

As the hospital staff carried him into the ICU she ran to one of the Jounin's.

"Here!" she cried writing something quickly on a piece of paper. "Take this to Konoha as fast as you can, imagine the fires of hell chasing after you because that's what will happen if this doesn't get there by tomorrow!" she cried intimidating the Jounin. "GO NOW!!"



The Jounin quickly disappeared while Temari ran upstairs to collect the elders for an important last second meeting.

"What is the meaning of this Temari-san?" One elder asked frustrated as the council room slowly began to fill.

"The meaning shall become quite clear in due time," Chiyo answered for the blonde young woman.

"And how exactly do you know that?" another elder asked.

"Because I sensed my grandson here a few hours ago," the old woman answered calmly, making the whole room silent.

"That's exactly what I'm here to talk to you all about," Temari said, catching everyone's attention. "Our Kazekage has been taken by the Akatsuki."

**A/N: Okay there we go. Second chapter of the week! (Does happy dance) See ya next time! And remember, if you love me and my story you will review like no one has ever reviewed before!**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: ok just to clear everything up, the events in the last chapter happened from dusk and all through the evening, so right now it will be the morning after Gaara got kidnapped.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, I am not making any money from this story, even though Lord knows I need it!**

**Chapter: 41**

Hinata groaned as the sun shone through the window, all too soon for her liking. Taking a pillow she covered her face and wished for the sun to go back down. Suddenly loud music filled her ears and Hinata abruptly sat up to inspect her surroundings. That's when she realized she was no longer in the Hyuuga compound and that this was Natsu's apartment. Her heart ached slightly, missing her old room.

"HINATA!" Natsu shouted as she entered the room, only then noticing the cringing girl. "Oh I'm sorry!" Natsu quickly apologized. "I thought you were still asleep."

"It's okay," Hinata answered. "As a Hyuuga I was taught to rise with the sun so I've been up for a little while."

"Yeah but it's the weekend," Natsu said.

"And?" Hinata asked confused.

"Sleeping in is something you do on weekends." Natsu said.

"Oh!" Hinata said suddenly excited. "I get it!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Natsu said. "I've slept in until one before!" She stated proudly. "What about you?"

"The latest I've slept in," Hinata said thinking for a minute. "Was until 7:30!" Hinata giggled as if she had done something bad.

Natsu looked at her for a minute as if she was an alien before hopping closer **(A/N: Remember she only has one leg) **and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hinataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she whined. "This isn't the Hyuuga manor! You can sleep in however late you would like."

Hinata smiled warmly at her friend before her eyes caught the numbers in red on the digital clock on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Then why do I need to be up at 8:00?" Hinata asked, slyly.

"Well today I thought we could bond like sisters!" Natsu said tackling Hinata in a hug.

"That's great Natsu-chan," Hinata said. "Demo what would we be doing?"

"What every NORMAL girl has been brought up to do…" Natsu began. "SHOP!!"

"Demo I don't have any money," Hinata said.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Natsu said. "Come with me!"

The Jounin grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her out of the room to the front of the apartment where numerous bags of luggage sat.

"Neji brought it over this morning." Natsu answered her unasked question.

"Really?" Hinata choked out holding back some tears.

"Yup," Natsu said. "And he told me to give this to you personally."

The older girl held out an envelope and the ex Hyuuga heiress took it with slight hesitation, slowly opening it as not to wreck anything that could be inside. The first thing she pulled out was a note.

_Dear Hinata_

_I want to thank you immensely for relinquishing your title of heir to the Hyuuga clan to someone as unworthy as me. Even after all I put you through you still think of me and try to make things better for everyone but yourself. I promise I will lead the Hyuuga clan just how you would want it to be run. That means treating cruelty with kindness and no more cursed seals. In this envelope is all the money I have ever made as a ninja up until this point. I want you to take it and buy something nice for yourself think of it as a treat on me. I love you dear cousin and I hope we can still remain close family even with your departure from the Hyuuga clan._

_Love,_

_Neji_

_P.S If you don't buy anything for yourself I will pick the most extravagant and expensive thing in the whole village and buy it for you instead._

Hinata laughed at the letter before bursting into regretful tears. Natsu wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her cry. After a few minutes when no more crying was heard Hinata spoke.

"Natsu-chan?" Hinata asked a bit shaky.



"Hai Hinata-chan?" answered Natsu soothingly.

"Can we go shopping now?" Hinata practically whimpered.

"Of course Hinata-chan!" Natsu cried. "Let me get my purse!!"

Hinata nodded and stood waiting at the door. Natsu hobbled into the kitchen returning moments later with her purse and crutches. Hinata opened the door and they both left the apartment.

--Page break--

"What about this?" Natsu asked holding out a kimono to Hinata.

"No," Hinata said. "Its way to flashy."

"Flashy?" Natsu cried. "It's one solid color!"

She waved the kimono in Hinata's face to prove it.

"Yes but it's just so very...not me," Hinata said taking it from Natsu's hands and putting it back onto the rack.

"You're such a stick in the mud Hinata-chan." Natsu grumbled.

Hinata turned and smiled at her friend about to say something when she was stopped by a young Chunin who spoke to her.

"Hinata Hyuuga?" the young boy asked.

"Hai." Hinata answered a little stony.

"Tsunade-sama wants you to go to her office for a new mission," he said.

"Ok, arigotou Konahamaru-san," she said bowing to the thirds grandson.

Konahamaru smiled before also bowing and running back to where Udon and Moegi waited patiently for him.



"The Hokage always knows how to ruin our fun!!" Natsu pouted.

"It's okay Natsu-chan; I'll go and then meet you for lunch." Hinata said.

"You promise?" Natsu asked.

"I promise," Hinata answered placing a hand over her heart.

"You swear?" Natsu asked again.

"I swear," Hinata said a little exasperated.

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked this time trying to annoy her friend.

"If you keep me here any longer I don't know if I'll even be done by lunch!" Hinata replied.

"Then get moving!" Natsu said, pushing Hinata forward.

Hinata sighed and began to run away only then realizing they never set up a specific location for lunch.

--Page Break--

Temari paced outside the hospital room door waiting to hear the news about Kankurou. Chiyo had been in there for over an hour and there was still no result. Finally the door opened and Temari almost fainted. Chiyo walked out followed by the rest of the medic ninja's. Slowly all of them disappeared and temari and Chiyo were in the corridor alone, an awkward silence over them.

"Well!?" Temari almost screamed.

"Gomen, Temari-san." Chiyo began making Temari's heart sink. "But I can't save him."

Temari's bottom lip quivered but she was able to swallow her tears as Chiyo was about to speak again.



"However there is still hope for him." Chiyo said.

"What do I have to do?" Temari asked steadily.

"I only know of one person who might be able to cure him," Chiyo began.

"And who is it!?" Temari asked impatiently.

"Tsunade." Chiyo said.

--Page Break--

Hinata made it to the Hokage's office faster then she had expected. She softly knocked and waited for the Hokage's voice. However instead of hearing the strong but female voice of Tsunade she heard the bright cheery male voice of her former crush.

"Come in!"He called.



Slowly Hinata opened the door and was met by a bright smile from the blonde.

"Hi Hinata-chan!" Naruto cried.

"Hello Naruto-kun," Hinata said smiling and taking a seat in the chair opposite him.

"How have you been?" he asked diplomatically.

"Good, you?" Hinata asked, trying to ignore the awkwardness between them.

"Fantastic," Naruto beamed, the discomfort not affecting him at all. "Why are you here Hinata-chan?"

"The Hokage needed to see me," Hinata said.

"Oh I'll get her for you; she shouldn't have you wait if she's the one that called you."



"Well that's okay Naruto-kun you don't have to..." Hinata began but was cut off as Naruto scooted his chair out and walked to the door.

"There goes Hinata-chan always worried about others, it's no bother don't worry about it!" he tried to reassure her.

With that he pulled open the door and called down the hall loudly.

"Oba-chan! Hinata-Chan's here to see you!" Naruto cried.

"Naruto! I'm coming I'm coming!"Tsunade's voice echoed loudly through the hall outside her office.

Not a moment later Tsunade appeared in her office.

"I told you to stop calling me that Naruto!" Tsunade growled at the blonde.

Hinata cleared her throat loudly to try and diffuse the fight that was sure to occur between the Hokage and her apprentice.

"Oh there you are Hinata-chan!" Tsunade said as if Hinata had just gotten there. "I weren't expecting you so soon!"

"Well what do you need Tsunade-sama?" Hinata tried to urge the Hokage.

"I have a mission for you!" the Hokage said, rushing to her desk and shuffling through a few papers. "Here you go!"

She handed Hinata a folder, and the Hyuuga immediately opened it. Immediately four pictures fell onto her lap. Picking them up she carefully studied each one.

"Demo, these are pictures of the sound team," Hinata said.

"Yes that's your new mission!" Tsunade said excitedly.

"Oba-chan!" Naruto cried. "That's a dirty trick!"

"Shut up Naruto unless you want to do ALL of the paper work for the month." Tsunade warned.



Naruto glared at the Hokage and crossed his arms as he listened to the rest of the debriefing.

"Yes Hinata-chan I want you to watch over them and see if they are up to no good." Tsunade said.

"Alright," Hinata sighed.

"Take an extra peek at Sasuke for me if you will, he seems a bit...unstable." Tsunade said, eyeing the Hyuuga closely.

"Of course," Hinata said standing and bowing. "Where are they staying?"

"Sasuke made arrangements and now they are all staying in the Uchiha compound." Tsunade answered.

Hinata gulped loudly but nodded leaving the office. Finally Tsunade could no longer ignore the glare coming from the blonde boy next to her.



"What is it Naruto!" Tsunade sighed exasperated.

"That's not right," he said seriously. "Trying to force her and Sasuke together like that will only cause problems."

"Oh come now Naruto!" Tsunade said. "A little push in the right direction never hurt anyone."

Naruto stood and walked to the door; placing his hand on the knob he turned to say one last thing.

"Only this isn't a push in the right direction, it's a push in the direction YOU want it to go in." With that he left.

--Page break--

_"Get out." The Uchiha's cold voice sent shivers down the pink haired girl's spine._

_"Sasuke-kun, Onegai..." Sakura pleaded on her knees._

_"I said get out." Sasuke turned back towards the girl._

_"Tell me anything you want me to do and I'll do it!" Sakura begged. "I just feel so useless.'_

_"Well then go find your worth somewhere else." Sasuke snapped._

_Karin who was watching through a crack in the door chuckled evilly._

_"Demo, when we were teammates I was able to help a lot." Sakura said._

_"I have found someone else who is of much more value then you." Sasuke concluded. "Now get out!" _

_Sakura burst into tears, running out the door and almost knocking over Karin._

_"Karin," Sasuke said suddenly from behind her._

_"H-hai Sasuke?" Karin stuttered out afraid to make him angry._

_"No need to be nervous," Sasuke soothed. "I want to talk to you in private."_

_"Really!?" Karin said scratching her cheek as a sudden itch made itself known._

_"Yes come in." he opened the door and Karin walked in bashfully, scratching her cheek again._

_When she got in the room she was thrown against the wall, Sasuke's arms pinning her there. His face got ever closer when suddenly her cheek itched again. She scratched it roughly wondering why she was so itchy._

_"Karin?" Sasuke said softly._

_"Yes Sasuke?" Karin asked, scratching her cheek continually._

_"Karin." Sasuke breathed again._

_"Sasuke?" Karin said, suddenly a little wary of the man in front of her._

Suddenly the itching stopped and was replaced by a sharp pain in her cheek instead.

"KARIN!" Suigetsu cried poking Karin hard with the opposite end of the feather he had been using to tickle her.

Slowly the girl opened her eyes, glasses askew she began to fix them, trying to hold down her anger.

"What did you need Suigetsu?" Karin asked as calmly as she could while holding her glasses in one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other.

"Well you were muttering Sasuke over and over again, so in order to shut you up I poked you until you woke up," Suigetsu admitted showing her the feather he had been using.

Karin's eyes darkened and her glasses snapped in her tightly clenched hand.

"I suggest you run now." Jugo said watching from his seat near the window.

"Suigetsu you BASTARD!!"

--Page Break--

"Hey Hinata-chan wait!" Naruto called after the white eyed girl.

"Yes Naruto-kun?" Hinata answered turning to face him.

"I just wanted to tell you..." he began. "The reason why Tsunade gave you that mission was because..."

"She wants me to get closer to Sasuke so we will get married and create a whole new super powerful clan." Hinata finished for him.

"But how did you...?" Naruto tried to ask.

"Natsu told me five seconds after I went to her apartment." Hinata smiled. "And she also told me what you said."

Naruto's face went blank for a minute not remembering if what he said was good or bad.

"And I really appreciate it," Hinata reassured him. "I'm glad at least one person thinks I should be able to choose someone for myself."

Naruto blushed slightly and was about to say something when a Jounin from Suna sprinted towards them.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked anxiously when she saw his head band.

"Letter…for the Hokage…from…Temari-san." The Jounin panted.

"Arigotou for making it here." Naruto said. "Demo I'll take it to the Hokage."

The Jounin relinquished the letter gratefully before resting. Hinata watched as Naruto ran towards the Hokage tower.

"What's the letter about?" Hinata asked.



"Gaara-sama," the Jounin panted.

"What about him?" Hinata asked frowning.

"He was kidnapped by the Akatsuki."

--Page Break--

"Alright," Tsunade said looking over the three people in her office. "You will be the team I will dispatch to Suna."

"Just…us?" Sakura asked, looking at Kakashi then Naruto.

"Yes," Tsunade said. "I have full faith in you."

Suddenly the door burst open and Hinata rushed in.



"Tsunade-sama!" Hinata panted. "I beg you; let me go on this mission."

"I'm sorry Hinata but you're already on a mission." Tsunade said.

"Begging your pardon Hokage-sama!" Hinata ground out. "But I don't care about that mission!"

"Hinata-san I have already assigned this mission to other capable ninja's, besides it will take too long to brief you and pack." Tsunade said smug.

"I'm done packing." Hinata said, throwing her already packed onto the Hokage's desk.

"Just let her come oba-chan," Naruto interrupted. "We could always use an extra teammate."

"Onegai Tsunade-sama." Hinata begged.



And slowly the two teens yelled at Tsunade about Hinata going on the mission and finally the Hokage snapped.

"UZIMAKI NARUTO IF YOU CARRY ON ANY LONGER WITH THIS I WILL MAKE SURE YOU ARE NO LONGER HOKAGE IN TRAINING." That immediately silenced the blonde. "And Hinata Hyuuga." She said slightly calmer. "I have made my decision, and that is final, if you speak one more word I will put you under anbu surveillance."

The Hyuuga's head fell as she slowly left the office her packed bag in hand. However as soon as she was far enough from the Hokage tower not to be seen she sprinted towards the Uchiha compound an idea quickly coming into her head.

--Page Break--

"Eww," Suigetsu groaned poking at the dinner Karin had made with distaste.

"Just shut up and eat it!" Karin snapped.

"Yes we don't need anything else broken before Sasuke-san comes in." Jugo stated.



"Where is his royal majesty king hard ass anyway?" Suigetsu asked.

"That's supreme hard ass to you." Sasuke scoffed walking toward the table. **(A/N: Gasp! Sasuke has a sense of humor!)**

Suigetsu was about to open his mouth again when a frantic knocking was heard at the door. Sasuke sighed and was about to go and answer the door but Karin spoke first.

"I'll get it! Just sit Sasuke." With that she walked towards the door.

"I better go to just in case it's someone hot that Karin wants to kill." Suigetsu got up just in time as the door was pulled open.

"What are _**you **_doing here?" Karin scowled at the Hyuuga who stood on the door step.

Without a word Hinata pushed past the other girl and wondered into the house.

"THAT WAS RUDE!" Karin shouted while Suigetsu laughed at her.

"Sasuke?" Hinata called.

"In the kitchen." The avenger replied curious as to why the Hyuuga would visit him.

Hinata walked in the kitchen and made sure Sasuke was facing her before she told him her request.

"I want you to tell me all you know about the Akatsuki." Hinata said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Just give me the information!" Hinata insisted.

"Not unless you tell me why." Sasuke said.

"Gaara was kidnapped and I plan on saving him." Hinata said stern.

A moment of silence passed.

"Alright then."

--Page Break--

When the clock on her nightstand in Natsu's apartment read 11:30 Hinata got up and jumped out the window before taking off towards the main gate. When she got there she quickly checked her surroundings but suddenly noticed four unfamiliar presences. Turning she saw team sound approaching her.

"You're not going with me." Hinata stated when they were in ear shot.

"Last time I checked you weren't the boss of us." Sasuke answered for them.

Hinata stared at the young man hard and he stared back and silence fell over the group.

"Just don't slow me down." Hinata warned and they all sprinted out of the village.

**A/N: Yay I was on vacation and I had fun so this is a chapter in celebration of me being home! Thanks for all the fabulous reviews and continue to give them!**


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter: 42**

_Natsu has always been known as a tough girl. As an exceptional academy student she graduated early along with her best friend Ayame She passed the Chunin exams the first time around and immediately began training to become a Jounin. On her last mission before the Jounin exams her and her teammates were on their way home after a successful escorting mission and they were attacked. Natsu watched as two of her teammates were killed in cold blood and how she was tortured until finally rescued by Anbu. All through the ordeal she could recall with great clarity that her eyes had always been dry. However like all good superheroes she had her weakness. Weddings, no matter how hard she tried she could not stop herself from crying. This wedding was no different. The bride looked stunning in her white wedding kimono, a crown of white gold sitting atop her head. The groom wore a crimson kimono contrasting sharply with his bride but coming together beautifully. White petals from the flowers on the surrounding trees fell gracefully around the couple as if it was a picture from a movie. After the ceremony itself there was a reception tons of food and dancing. However Natsu sat at a table drying her eyes while laughing as the bride attempted to teach the groom how to dance. _

"_Having fun Natsu-san?" Neji Hyuuga asked taking a seat next to the slightly older girl._

"_Hai hai!" Natsu insisted turning her attention to the young man next to her. "What about you Neji-san?"_

"_Of course," he said, watching the bride with a large smile on his face. "But alas I find myself without a dance partner."_

"_Well I am sorry to disappoint you," Natsu said looking at him warily. "But I won't be of much help to you." she said referring to her missing leg._

_"I don't know, you might not need two legs to dance." Neji said standing and pulling Natsu up with him. _

_Making sure he was supporting her weight Neji danced slowly with Natsu actually succeeding. But soon after the slow song there was a slightly faster one and the dance from before would not suffice. They stood o0n the dance floor for a few seconds before Neji seemed to come up with an idea. Still supporting the majority of her weight he began to dance a little faster with her making her hobble and tip a little. Soon she realized all the other dancers had stopped except for the bride and groom and her and Neji. They were watching her make a fool out of herself and she felt embarrassed. _

"_Why are your cheeks so red Natsu-san?" Neji asked._

"_People are watching me." Natsu said._

"_Then let them watch." Neji said._

"_It's embarrassing Neji." Natsu said quietly._

"_Why?" he asked, as the song was coming to a close._

"_Because I can't dance right." Natsu answered her head falling._

_Neji released her and stared at her for a minute, not knowing how to cheer up his fellow Jounin. Natsu ignored the Hyuuga prince's piercing gaze. Suddenly the room around her started to erupt into loud hysterics. Quickly Natsu's head snapped up and she found the Hyuuga genius doing the chicken dance in a circle around her. A hand flew to her own mouth to stifle the giggles trying to force their way out. There was clapping coming from the other side of the room; it was the groom as the bride joined in on the silly dance. Everyone laughed harder, including Natsu._

"_Neji-san you can stop embarrassing yourself now!" Natsu said._

"_Why?" Neji asked. "I'm having fun that's all that matters!"_

_The reception ended soon after and Natsu and Neji were the last two people to leave. As she helped the drunken Neji through the door the stoic Kazekage smiled and nodded, his bride only a few feet away cleaning a few things up. As they exited the reception hall Genma, Anko, and Ayame stood outside waiting for her._

"_Well I guess you were right Natsu." Genma said handing her a stack of money._

_Anko simply grumbled as she handed her money over to the overly happy Jounin._

"_Here you go Natsu-chan," Ayame said, handing in her money as well. "You deserve this."_

"_And you also deserve this." Tsunade said. "I've found a surgery where I can replace your leg, it will take a lot of recovery time but I'm sure you can do it!"_

"_Really?" Natsu said ecstatic._

"_Congratulations Natsu-chan!" The bride said hugging her tightly._

"_No I should be thanking you Hinata-chan," Natsu said squeezing the bride back. "If you and Gaara-sama hadn't gotten married I wouldn't have gotten the money to pay for my new prosthetic leg."_

"_Natsu-san?" Neji said. "Can I walk you home?"_

"_Yeah…" Natsu said, realizing they were alone._

_The walk to her apartment was silent and she felt very awkward. When she got to the door Neji stopped her from opening the door._

"_What is it Neji?" Natsu asked, but the Hyuuga didn't answer. "Neji?" Natsu asked again nervous._

_The young man opened his mouth and a loud beep made its way to Natsu's ears._

Her eyes slowly opened and her hand slammed viscously on her alarm clock. Slowly she sat up and rubbed her eyes wondering why she was up so early. Then she remembered, Hinata was denied the mission to look for the Kazekage and was depressed so Natsu had decided to make her breakfast. Smiling to herself and completely forgetting her dream she got up and walked into the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. It took a little over an hour and Natsu could not force down the pride she felt as she picked it up and prepared to carry it into Hinata's room which took her another fifteen minutes.

"Hinata! Breakfast!" Natsu said happily.



However when she walked in she found the Hyuuga girl missing. The first thought that ran through her head was she went to see her cousin. Natsu then stuffed the breakfast into a basket so maybe they could have a picnic when she found her friend. Grabbing her crutches she began her search. Finally when she spotted the Hyuuga Genius he had spotted her and was walking over purposefully.

"Ah Neji-san!" Natsu smiled.

"Natsu-san." Neji nodded curtly. "Have you seen Hinata-sa…Hinata?"

"No…I was just going to ask you the same question." Natsu said thoughtfully.

"I've checked everywhere and I can't find her." Neji said frightfully.

"Then where could she be?" Natsu asked.

They stood and contemplated for a moment before they both looked at each other and Natsu dropped the basket of food.

"Gaara." They said in unison.



Within seconds Neji had scooped Natsu up and began sprinting towards the Hokage tower.

--Page Break--

"Watch out coming through!" Sakura shouted pushing through the throngs of people cluttering the Kazekage towers medical ward.

Naruto and Kakashi followed close behind afraid of getting trapped without Sakura acting as bulldozer. Finally they reached Kankurou hospital room and the pink haired girl didn't even bother knocking. She flung the door making all three occupants of the room stand.

"Who are you?" Matsuri asked first.

"Haruno Sakura, apprentice to Lady Tsunade." Sakura said bowing towards the smaller girl.

"Ah Haruno-san I am glad you are here." Chiyo said gesturing to the poisoned young man in the bed. "You will be of great help since you know of Tsunade-sama's expertise."



"Are you sure?" Temari asked standing, her grey eyes all puffy and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Don't worry Temari-san," Sakura said placing her hands on her shoulders. "I'll be able to save your brother."

Temari nodded and was ushered away where she stood in the back of the room with Matsuri and the other two ninja from Konoha.

"Are you two going to go save Gaara-sama?" Matsuri asked warily.

"We will do whatever we can." Kakashi said first.

"Of course we'll go and save Gaara!" Naruto cried a little loud.

"Are you all that Konoha sent?" Matsuri asked again.

The two men looked down afraid of looking the younger girl in the eyes. She gasped and turned to tell Temari but the older girl shushed her.

"What about Hinata?" Temari asked.

"She begged to come but Tsunade wouldn't let her." Naruto said the anger evident in his voice.

Suddenly the door opened and a Suna Jounin entered walking straight towards the eldest sand sibling catching everyone's attention.

"Temari-san," the Jounin said.

"Yes what is it?" Temari asked.

"We have just received news from Konoha; they have sent another team to help with the rescue of Kazekage-sama and also they alerted us of five missing ninjas." He continued.

"Who are they?" Temari asked warily.

"Hozuki Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo, Uchiha Sasuke, and…" he trailed of his gaze dropping almost as if he was afraid to reveal the last person.



Naruto glared his anger already high after hearing Sasuke had left once again, while Temari waited. When there was no answer she sighed frustrated.

"And?" she urged.

The Jounin swallowed hard and clasped his slightly shaking hands together before looking up at the group of serious ninja.

"Hyuuga…Hinata."

--Page Break--

"Alright so you know what your mission is?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai." The four Jounin's answered, some more enthusiastic then others.



"Alright then I would like the team leader to step forward and recite the mission details." Tsunade replied.

Gai stepped forward and bowed before beginning his explanation of the mission they had only been given moments before.

"We are to go help Kakashi's team rescue the Kazekage while keeping our eyes peeled for the missing ninja's, Karin, Jugo, Hozuki Suigetsu, Uchiha Sasuke, and…" he paused for a brief moment glancing at Neji. "Hyuuga Hinata."

"Alright then I expect you all to leave immediately." Tsunade said dismissing them.

As Neji walked out the door he was met with the concerned face of Natsu. She waited for him to speak but he merely kept walking.

"Well?" She asked anxious.

"My main priority in this mission is to retrieve the Kazekage." Neji said.

"Then what about Hinata?" Natsu asked anxious.



"I don't know." He whispered.

"Then promise me!" Natsu said shoving her hand in his face.

"What?" Neji asked as she held up her pinkie.

"Promise me." She smiled. "Promise me you and Hinata will come back safely.

"This is so childish," Neji said, not being able to make his small smile disappear completely.

Natsu puffed out her cheek and would not let Neji pass finally the young man sighed and grabbed her pinkie with his.

"Promise."

--Page Break--



"Dear…GOD!" Karin panted as she continued to sprint after the rest of the traveling ninja. "What the hell is she?"

"Karin." Sasuke warned.

"Demo Sasuke-kun," she started sweetly. "I'm tired, we crammed a journey that would have taken us at least half a day in only two hours! If we keep on like this I don't know how much longer I'll last."

"Yeah Sasuke," Suigetsu piped in. "I mean I know that I can kick Karin's ass any day when it comes to speed and stamina but even I'm a little bushed."

"It might be beneficial if we stop." Jugo said.

Sasuke sighed at his teammates and sped up to be even with Hinata. He would never admit it but he felt as if he was going to pass out from running so much. Also his concern for the Hyuuga told him that she was not okay to go through all this running.

"Hey Hinata?" Sasuke said trying to get her attention.



"What Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked.

"They are tired." Sasuke said referring to the three people behind them.

"Then they shouldn't have come." Hinata said.

"Hinata," Sasuke said grabbing her arm and stopping her from running. "Everyone's tired. We need to rest we've been sprinting for hours. Most of all you need to rest if you plan on saving Gaara from the Akatsuki."

"But I won't save him in time if I don't keep going." Hinata said trying to wrench free from his grip.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Sasuke asked tightening his grip.

Hinata stopped struggling immediately and almost collapsed, Sasuke barely catching her. She was able to stand again before looking at Sasuke tears in her eyes.



"No," she finally answered collapsing in hopelessness.

Sasuke dropped to his knees to try and comfort her when they heard a loud voice above them.

"I thought not." Suigetsu said, pulling Hinata to her feet while ignoring Sasuke. "That's why I had my buddy Jugo here." He said pointing to the other young man. "Find out where the hideout is and he's narrowed it down to three places right Jugo?"

"Yes, they will either be in grass village, thunder village, or rain village." Jugo answered like he was a text book.

"See Hinata-san," Karin said, managing to force a smile. "We want to help you. But you need to also help us."

"Well Thunder village is a long ways away and if we stop we'll never be able to save the Kazekage," Sasuke mentioned.

"We've got that covered to, right Jugo?" Suigetsu said as the other sound ninja produced a scroll.



Doing a few hand seals he bit his thumb and began his summoning jutsu. As he continued to mutter Suigetsu began to back away.

"It looks like he's summoning the big one I suggest we all back up." The boy said.

Everyone did as they were told and not even a moment later a huge burst of wind swept over them nearly knocking them over and making the trees bend. What had landed on the ground was a giant bird.

"All-a-board!" Jugo said climbing up onto the birds back. "Bird express going to the thunder village."

It took a few minutes before they were all on the back of the bird and were on their way once again. Hinata turned around to where all the sound ninja sat preparing to rest and conserve their strength.

"Thank you," she said softly though none of them heard it.

--Page Break--



"Who goes there?" the vicious voice growled from behind the gate.

"Your mom un, now let us in." Deidara sighed making a face at the man who they couldn't see but could obviously see them.

"I'll ask you one more time." He said. "Who are you and what is your business in the village of rain?"

As the blonde was about to open his mouth and make another smart remark Sasori spoke before him.

"Sasori and Deidara no surnames." He added just in case there were any suspicions. "We are here to deliver something to the leader of this village."

"How long will you be staying?" He asked.

"Four days and three nights." Sasori said glancing at the red head Deidara was now forced to carry. "Give or take."



Then the gates slowly opened and the two Akatsuki members entered the village that the Kazekage would most likely never leave.

**A/N: HAPPY B-DAY MAC! That's my little sister and even though she'll probably never read this I still think I should say Happy Birthday. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: Ok well this is another, unfortunately, craptastic and a bit shorter chapter but I tried. This is dedicated to Murasaki Shikibu. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own…sadly**

**Chapter: 43**

The moon had finally risen and Hinata's eyes were glued to the night sky. Around her she could hear the soft snores and deep breathing of her companions. Coupling with the chirping of the crickets, it made a midnight serenade that had Hinata yawning.

'_Tired?'_ her demon asked.

"Yes," Hinata answered aloud.

'_Then why not rest?'_ it asked again.

"I'm too worried about Gaara-kun." She answered closing her eyes and grasping her hands together in frustration.

'_I understand.'_ The demon assured. _'But in order for us to stand even a chance against the Akatsuki you must rest and gather your strength. Having me is a clear advantage but we have only been together for a little over half a year, you still have yet to know any of my abilities.'_

Hinata sighed and was about to speak again, to give her another reason not to sleep but her demon beat her to it.

'_Gaara would want you to you know."_ The demon said quickly, breaking Hinata's already flimsy resolve.

"Mmm hmmm," Hinata mumbled, but still she did not lie down.

'_Is it your dreams that still haunt you?'_

She nodded and laid down now staring comfortably at the stars, wishing on every single one that they would be able to find Gaara in time.

'_Will a story help lull you to sleep?' _



"Thank you." Hinata said smiling. "But I don't think so, no offense but a story told by a demon might not be the best thing to chase away nightmares."

'_A song then?'_ the demon inquired.

"Maybe." Hinata mused. "Do you know any?"

'_Only one."_ It answered. _'My old container would sit alone in the dark and sing it every night.'_

"Why?" Hinata asked.

'_I suppose it's because she was lonely.'_ It answered. _'She wanted someone, anyone to help her. Too bad she died before she could meet you.' _

"Why didn't you talk to her and make friends kind of like what you're doing with me?" Hinata asked sitting up.

'_Now now child don't fret, rest, these questions are not important. I'll even sing the song for you.'_

**(A/N: Even though I'm not a huge fan of Lord of the Rings I think this song is beautiful. It's called May it be by Enya.)**

'_May it be an evening star, shines down upon you. May it be when darkness falls, your heart will be true, you walk a lonely road. Oh, how far you are from home _

_Mornië utúlië. Believe and you will find your way. Mornië alantië. A promise lives within you now.'_

Hinata fell back and felt her eyes grow heavy as the demons urethral voice swept her into her own dreams.

'_May it be the shadows call, will fly away. May it be your journey on, to light the day.  
When the night is overcome. You may rise to find the sun  
Mornië utúlië, Believe and you will find your way  
Mornië alantië, A promise lives within you now  
A promise lives within you now'_

A few hours later she was shaken awake by Sasuke.

"Good morning." Hinata said softly while stretching.



" 'Morning." Sasuke answered before tossing an apple at Hinata that he got from his bag.

"Hey guys!" Jugo hissed just as Hinata was about to take a bite of her breakfast.

"What?" Sasuke replied a little irked.

"Look at that!" he said pointing towards the end of the bird.

Hinata looked in the direction he was pointing in and had to swallow a giggle. Suigetsu had his arms wrapped around Karin who was lying on his chest. Almost like clockwork the young woman's eyes slowly started to open.

"Sasuke-kun." She gasped in euphoric bliss, snuggling closer to Suigetsu who she thought was Sasuke.

Blearily she looked into the face of the man she was lying on. It took her another minute to realize that it wasn't Sasuke and a whole other minute to realize exactly who it was.

"EWWW GET OFF ME!" she cried smacking him hard and waking up the poor young man.

"Karin YOU BITCH!" Suigetsu cried rubbing his reddening face.

Jugo began to laugh as the argument commenced. Hinata even noticed the small smile on Sasuke's face.

"Alright enough you two." He said returning to his stoic demeanor.

The two ninja's glared at each other one last time before turning their attention back to the Uchiha.

"Alright here's the plan," Sasuke began. "Suigetsu and I will be dropped off at the sound village to find any supplies while Karin, Jugo, and Hinata will search Thunder village for any sign of the Akatsuki."

Suigetsu made a face but nodded along with everyone else.

"If you encounter the Akatsuki DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT fight them. Come to the sound village as fast as you can and get us. Then we can fight." Sasuke said.



Another nod. Sasuke looked up at the sky.

"In a few minutes, Suigetsu and I will be leaving so you three should reach thunder village by this afternoon, tonight at the latest. Keep yourselves hidden and keep yourselves safe."

Soon enough the two boys were dropped off at sound and the other three were on their way to Thunder.

"Hinata?" Karin asked.

"Yes Karin-san?" Hinata asked.

"You love this Gaara guy don't you?" Karin asked.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat as the Kazekage's name was mentioned. The butterflies began and Hinata smiled deciding to finally be honest with herself.

"Yes…I do." Hinata admitted, relief washing over her.

"Good." Karin said sitting in front of her, Jugo following close behind. "Because I would be pissed if I found out that I would teach one of my prized techniques to someone who is not willing to risk it all."

--Page break--

"Got it!" Sakura cried jumping up from the desk she was researching at and sprinting out the door.

She ran into Kankurou's hospital room and was met with many glares. Ignoring them she went over to his bed and began her jutsu. It took only a few moments before she was able to find the poison and isolate it. Using the greatest of care and as much time as she could allow she extracted the poison from Kankurou. Everyone's heart raced and no one breathed as all eyes were glued to the heart monitor. Soon enough it stabilized, but still no one dared to move or make a sound until laughter rang out through the room. All eyes flew to the blonde young woman who was hysterically laughing as tears fell from her eyes.

"Thank you Sakura!" She said between relieved bursts of laughter, but as she looked everyone could see that she was serious.

"Don't thank me yet Temari-san." Sakura said. "We have one last brother to save, right Naruto? Kakashi-sensei?"

Both men nodded before exiting the room to gather their belongings and get ready to leave.

"Good luck on your journey." Matsuri said to the pink haired girl.

"Onegai return my brother to me." Temari said bowing.

"Of course." Sakura said, bowing before turning towards the door.

"Haruno-san." Chiyo said stepping forward.

"Hai Chiyo-san?" Sakura asked.

"I wish to come with you." The old woman stated.

"Demo its dangerous!" Sakura said. "I'm sorry but I can't let you."



"I'll go whether you allow me to or not. It would just be safer if ninja's were protecting me." She shot back.

"I still won't let you." Sakura said.

"I am the only one who can defeat my grandson!" Chiyo cried, scaring the younger girl. "Let me go and I can save you from certain death."

"Alright." Sakura gave in. "But you must hurry."

--Page Break--

"Alright once more Hinata-san." Karin sighed. "Hold still Jugo!"

The sound ninja nodded and held out his arm while biting his finger and getting ready for the pain that was sure to come. With one swift motion Karin snapped his arm and the young man barely even gasped as his arm fell limply to his side. At this part Hinata activated her Byakugan as Karin went slowly through the seals of the healing jutsu that would quickly heal the arm. Placing her glowing green hands in Jugo's arm she healed it quickly and gave it and experimental poke, but it was once again back to normal.



"Ok I think I have it this time," Hinata said, going through the hand signs and holding out her hands that glowed pale green.

Karin touched one and smiled.

"Finally! It's not completely right but you got it good enough." She said just as a rain drop splattered on her glasses. "Dammit it's raining!"

"Well at least it's warm." Hinata said pulling the hood of her jacket over her head.

"Welcome ladies." Jugo said sliding off the now stationary bird. "To thunder village."

The young man offered his hand up to Hinata who took it and slid down gently, while Karin jumped down herself.

"Alright we have to get rid of our headbands so that no one will recognize us." Karin said pulling off her new Konoha one, Jugo doing the same easily.

Hinata stared at the headband that she held in her hand but couldn't bring herself to let it go.

"What's wrong Hinata-san?" Karin asked. "Go ahead and take it off."

"I can't." Hinata said softly. "I cannot betray my village."

"It's not betrayal." Jugo said. "You just…temporarily disown it."

"I can't do it." Hinata said final.

"Then what are we going to do!?" Karin cried exasperated.

Silence fell over the group of three ninja; suddenly Hinata smiled and tied the headband, metal part against her face around her eyes before activating her Byakugan.

"There, is this ok?" Hinata asked.

Jugo shrugged while Karin sighed before nodding slowly. Hinata smiled before leading her other two teammates into the village.

"We'll meet back up in an hour, right in this spot." Karin said. "If something happens throw one of these." She continued handing them each a smoke bomb. "Ready go!"

They scoured the village high and low in yet there was no sign of the Akatsuki. Before Hinata knew the hour had ticked by and the rain had stopped. She pulled her hood down and began to sprint towards the meeting spot. By the time she got there Jugo and Karin were waiting for her.

"Any luck?" she asked slightly breathless.

Both ninja's shook their heads slightly ashamed at letting their Hyuuga friend down. The white eyed woman yanked off her headband and threw it on the ground in anger. He eyes closed to hide her regretful tears, when a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Hey guys! It's Hinata Hyuuga!"

--Page Break--

"Good work Deidara and Sasori." The leader complimented the shadows cast from the dim lamps in their lair still hiding his face.

"Yeah for two sissy men." Hidan scoffed.

"Hidan-san, that's not very nice!" Tobi exclaimed.

"Shut up Tobi!" Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Kisame yelled at the same time.

The man in the orange mask whimpered as if he had been beaten.

"Don't mind them Tobi." Zetsu said.

The black haired young man was about to speak again when the leader interrupted.

"Alright everyone we will now begin the extraction process."

All the Akatsuki began forming hand seals and when they were all completed they touched their hands to the ground. Two large hands of stone sprouted from the ground, looking as if they were offering something up to God. One by one they took their places on their assigned finger. When the leader had made sure no one was left on the ground he made the final seal. The unconscious Kazekage spasmed violently for a minute before lying still.



"It will take three days and three nights to complete the extraction." The leader said.

"What will we do with him when it's over?" Kisame asked.

"Nothing." The leader said shifting his gaze to the shark man. "He'll be dead when it's over. Then he'll just be food for Zetsu."

"Yum." Zetsu's black side said grinning maliciously.

**A/N: Please review or I'll cry!**


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Hey guys! Well here is the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer:……**

**Chapter: 44**

Hinata turned slowly, curious as to who would know her in thunder village. Her white eyes first saw the bright red hair and then moved down to the face of the person the voice belonged to.

"Kasumi-san?" Hinata asked.

"Hai, how are you Hinata-san!?" she exclaimed pulling the Hyuuga in to a tight embrace.

"Fine how are you." Hinata said her voice lacking any type of emotion.

"Uh oh what's wrong now?" Kasumi said examining Hinata's face closely.



"Nothing Kasumi-san I don't know what you mean." Hinata said trying to smile.

"It's that damn Kazekage again isn't it!?" Kasumi exclaimed. "I swear to God when I get my hands on him I'll…!"

"He was kidnapped." Jugo interjected.

"What?" Kasumi asked disbelievingly. "Well if he was able to get kidnapped so easily I say let him stay kidnapped. And Hinata should lose no sleep over him if he's THAT useless."

"He was kidnapped…" Karin said over the other girl's voice. "By the Akatsuki organization. We're on our way there right now and we plan on attempting to take him back. But there are only five of us and I honestly don't know if we'll make it."

Kasumi was struck speechless and her three other teammates who had remained silent until now, looked at each other in fear. Slowly the red head girl turned towards her teammates biting her lip and wringing her hands nervously.

"Well?" Kasumi asked almost weak.



"Where ever you go I go Ojou-sama." Yuki said bowing her head to the team's leader.

"Arigotou Yuki." Kasumi said slightly relieved.

"M-me to." Rikku said.

This time the red head was too chocked up for words and instead embraced her friend tightly. Slowly everyone turned towards Sora who stood there shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"What?" she cried a little defensive.

"Well?" Kasumi asked.

"Are you all nuts!?" Sora asked. "We would stand no chance in hell against those monsters! No offense to Hinata or her lover the Kazekage but I AM NOT willing to lose my life to save his!"

Her teammates simply stared at her and finally Sora's face broke into an exasperated expression.



"Be brave Onee-chan." Rikku whispered.

Sora shot a glare at her sister but she only stared back with soft eyes having the upmost faith in her twin. Finally the blue eyed girl sighed.

"Demo, if you are willing to go, Rikku-onee-chan then I guess I can to." Sora said grabbing her twin's hand.

"Alright then it's settled we'll be joining you on your mission!" Kasumi cried.

--Page Break--

"Put it back now!" Sasuke shouted as Suigetsu proceeded to shove more money into his pockets.

"C'mon Sasuke! What are the chances we will ever find the old snakes treasury again?" Suigetsu asked taking another handful.

"We don't have time for this Suigetsu." Sasuke sighed irritated.

"Yes we do!" Suigetsu insisted shoving more money into his pockets.

"I'll make you a deal, if we get the scrolls we need and still have time left you can come back here and take all the money you want. I'll even help you carry it out of here." Sasuke said.

"Hell no!" Suigetsu scoffed. "You're lying!"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Sasuke asked.

"Have you ever NOT lied to me?" Suigetsu countered.

Sasuke brooded for a few more moments before trying to persuade Suigetsu again.

"Look this time I SWEAR I'm not lying." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu stopped and turned towards his Uchiha partner before a huge maniacal grin spread across his face.

"Do you swear on the graves of your family?" he asked.

Sasuke's eyes flashed red and he ground his teeth to keep from lashing out at his partner. After taking a deep breath he was ready to speak again.

"Fine," he growled. "I swear on my families graves, BUT that's if we have time."

"Fine let's go." Suigetsu pouted, following after his companion.

After walking through a few more rooms the two boys came face to face with huge double doors. They both glanced at each other before pushing open the door. The rancid smell that hit Suigetsu's nose as he entered the room made him outwardly cringe and grab his nose.

"DAMN SASUKE!" He cried looking around the snake mans old bedroom where said mans pale corpse continued to rot on the floor at Suigetsu's feet. "Why the hell couldn't you have cleaned up?"

The boy with the coal black eyes shot him an impassive look before turning away from him and digging through the numerous scrolls and papers scattered on the floor.

"It's not my fault you're a baby." Sasuke finally said, just as Suigetsu bent over to prod the lifeless body.

"Ugh!" he groaned as a piece of bloody flesh rolled toward him. "How can you stand this it smells terrible!" he finished standing.

Sasuke remained quite as he stood and walked over to a large map on the wall. Finally he spoke after another moment of hesitation.

"It's the same smell on the night my clan was murdered." He all but whispered.

Suigetsu bit back his smart comment and walked over to Sasuke. Although they weren't close enough to be friends he still respected him. Without moving his head he reached his hand to his back where he ran his knuckles across the cool smooth metal of the former sword of Momochi Zabuza. This was his constant reminder of how much he owed the young Uchiha. Finally he was about to talk but Sasuke rose a hand to silence him and frowned. Suigetsu waited as the paler young man knocked on the top of the map. Instead of hearing the very dull thud of his knuckles meeting brick it created a louder echoing thud.

"What the hell…?" Suigetsu said confused as Sasuke took both his hands and grasped at the map.



With one quick jerk the large tapestry map came crashing to the floor. Suigetsu stepped back a bit as his heart sped up when the hollow metal door was revealed. It reminded him of his own prison that he used to be confined to. Sasuke ignored Suigetsu's sudden change in demeanor and tried to pull the door open.

"It's locked." Sasuke stated, when Suigetsu didn't reply he continued. "Come unlock it for me."

When Suigetsu still didn't answer him Sasuke turned and saw the young man standing their stock still his face unusually pale.

"Hey Suigetsu!" Sasuke snapped.

"Huh? What?" Suigetsu asked his attention turning back to his teammate.

"I said unlock the door for me!" Sasuke said exasperated.

"Oh right," Suigetsu said putting on a nervous smile. "Of course."

"Well?" Sasuke said reveling in Suigetsu's discomfort.

Slowly the young man approached the door, his arm became clear and fluent like water and he let it seep into a crack around the door. Sasuke watched as Suigetsu mustered up all of his concentration to unlock the door. When the door shook slightly from the relieved heavy pressure and Suigetsu's arm quickly slipped out through the same crack and materialized back to his side again. Sasuke reached up to pull on it again but still the door wouldn't budge.

"I still can't open it!" Sasuke growled at the still slightly fearful boy.

"Orochimaru put a seal on all the doors like these." He answered darkly before going into a set of semi familiar hand signs.

Then without any coaxing from either boy the door sprang open with a loud creak. Suigetsu took another step back in disbelief, he had only seen those hand signs once and he had been able to remember them. Without even a moment's hesitation Sasuke had leapt through the door into the black abyss. Suigetsu remained outside the small passage that was behind the door hoping beyond hope that Sasuke wouldn't care and continue his new adventure on his own. Sure enough the Uchiha reappeared in the entrance of the passage smirking down at the other ex sound ninja.

"Are you coming? Or would you rather be put down for a nap?" Sasuke said triumphantly.

Suigetsu's eyes narrowed and his hand went back unconsciously to rub the metal of Zabuza's sword. No way would he give up on a battle with the Uchiha even if it meant doing something that terrified him to no end.

"Ladies first." He answered victorious.

Sasuke's smirk vanished and turned back into the passage making sure Suigetsu followed him.

--Page Break--

"It's great we have more allies and everything but I don't think my bird can hold us all." Jugo stated a little nervous as what the extra female would do to him let alone Karin.

"That's okay!" Kasumi smiled. "I have a summon of my own!"

Reaching into her kunai pouch she searched for a scroll but came up empty handed. She quickly checked the next pocket in yet there was still no scroll.

"Where could it be?" Kasumi pouted.

"The last time you had it Ojou-sama you gave it to Sora-san for safe keeping." Yuki said in a monotone.



"Oh that's right! Sora if you please." Kasumi said as the other searched her pockets in doubt before producing the scroll with utter shock evident on her face.

"I didn't even remember I had that!" Sora claimed.

"Arigotou Yuki!" Kasumi smiled. "I don't know how we would survive without you!"

The dark haired girl nodded and bowed slightly as the red head began the seals for her summon. She finished and smiled in yet there was still no summoning animal to be found.

"Um?" Karin started, but quickly stopped in shock as a huge Tiger bounded towards them.

"And there he is." Sora said sighing.

"Um," Kasumi said nervously.

"What is it now?" Karin groaned. "We have to get going."



"My Tiger can only hold three people and as you can clearly see there are four of us." Kasumi said gesturing to her teammates. "I can't fly because I'm the one who summoned my tiger."

"Um how about Yuki?" Hinata suggested.

"I must follow Ojou-sama." Yuki answered stiffly.

"Sora?" Hinata offered.

The other girl paled and shook her head violently while the others continued to wait for her verbal answer.

"I-I can't." Sora stuttered.

"Why not?" Jugo sighed.

"I-I'm terrified o-o-of heights!" Sora squeaked grabbing onto her sister's arm.



"But your name means sky!" Karin cried.

"I-it's alright I-I'll go." Rikku said pulling away from her sister.

"So where are we headed anyway?" Kasumi asked as Yuki and Sora slid onto her tiger.

"Sound." Karin answered as Jugo began summoning again. "You know where it is?"

"Yes." Yuki answered for her mistress as the red head focused on climbing onto her tiger.

"Right well we'll meet you there then." Karin said awkwardly as Hinata and Jugo grabbed her hands to hoist her up onto the giant bird, Rikku sitting uncomfortably next to the Hyuuga and at a loss at what to really do.

--Page Break--



Suigetsu burst from the passage carrying the large chest the Uchiha had ordered him to take and quickly dropped it before backing as far away from the hole as possible.

"God you're such a baby." Sasuke's voice echoed somewhere off the metal walls in the passage as he slowly made his way out.

"You weren't the one who was locked in one of those infamous cells all their life!" Suigetsu snapped.

"Whatever." Sasuke said jumping out of the same passage holding another chest. "Search these for anything useful."

Suigetsu merely glared at his partner before picking up his chest and forcing it open. He coughed at all the dust that flew into his face. A spider scurried across his hand as his vision cleared and he caught a glimpse of the content in the box. Papers and scrolls littered the old moldy chest and Suigetsu scoffed disappointed. He searched the bottom and pulled out what looked like a half eaten piece of paper.

"Sasuke what exactly are we looking for?" Suigetsu asked bored.

"We're not LOOKING for anything, but if something interesting just so happens to catch your eye then take it." Sasuke said distracted.



Suigetsu made a face at Sasuke's back before digging back into the chest and examining the papers he pulled out.

"Art of the snake?" he read aloud. "Oh yeah that's really helpful. Oh or how about this one? Scroll about the magical art of origami. So what was that about finding something useful?"

"I was talking about something like THIS." Sasuke said chucking a large scroll at Suigetsu's head.

"Ow!" he cried as it hit its mark.

He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke before pulling open the scroll and freezing. At the top in slightly bolded characters it said Suigetsu Hozuki. He read more and his face soon flushed in anger and embarrassment.

"Did you read this?" he asked Sasuke.

"Read what?" Sasuke asked preoccupied with a folder filled with miscellaneous papers.

"THIS!" Suigetsu bit out, shoving the scroll in the Uchiha's face. "This! Did you read this!"

"Why is it important to you?" Sasuke teased.

"Did you read it or not!?" Suigetsu cried.

"Alright alright! Sheesh take a chill pill captain PMS and no I didn't read it I saw your name on it and gave it to you." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at the black haired boy, he didn't trust him and he was about to say so when Sasuke gasped.

"What?" Suigetsu asked, tucking his important scroll in his kunai pouch before approaching the Uchiha.

When the dark haired teen didn't answer him he leaned over his shoulder and read the title of the scroll before gasping himself. Finally he found his voice.

"Do you really think that's the jutsu he used?" Suigetsu asked weakly.



"I don't know."Sasuke answered awed.

"Sasuke-kun, Suigetsu-baka?" Karin's voice echoed from the speakers on the sides of the room. "We've come to get you with a few uh…surprises. If you're not up in five minutes then we'll look for you."

"Oh crap." Sasuke muttered shoving scrolls and papers in a chest before tossing it to Suigetsu. "Fill it up with everything you found."

Suigetsu merely nodded shoving everything he could get his hands on fast enough until the only thing left was the forsaken scroll in Sasuke's hand.

"Should we take it?" Suigetsu asked.

"I don't know." Sasuke answered holding it as if it would explode any second.

"Uh Sasuke-kun, Suigetsu?" Karin's voice came out a little nervous. "You guys should hurry! We'll start down there in a minute if you don't come up."

However the two boys barely paid any attention to the young woman because their eyes were on the scroll.

"GUYS I MEAN IT!" Karin practically screamed over the intercom.

Sasuke chucked the scroll at Suigetsu who shoved it in the chest and both boys ran out of the room. Their feet echoed as they continued to run through the maze like fortress until the light from the moon was shining at the top of a flight of stairs.

"Alright who goes down to look?" an unfamiliar voice echoed down to the two boys.

"Well obviously Hinata her Byakugan would be useful." Karin said matter of factly.

"I-is she s-s-supposed to g-go alone?" Another soft unfamiliar voice said.

"Do you think this is the surprise Karin was talking about?" Suigetsu asked breathless just as they started up the flight of stairs.

"I don't know." Sasuke replied also breathless. "But I guess we'll find out."



Suigetsu nodded and they both sped up. However due to the momentum when they reached the top they couldn't stop Sasuke ran ahead of Suigetsu and gradually stopped. Unfortunately for Suigetsu he didn't notice the dark haired girl standing at the top of the stairs and crashed into her making them both crash to the ground. However Suigetsu also threw the chest he was holding and it hit Sasuke in the back of the head.

"Suigetsu you son of a…!" Sasuke said but was cut off.

"Well hello there…" Suigetsu said as smoothly as possible to the girl who lay sprawled on the ground only a few inches from him.

Without a word the stoic girl stood before pulling Suigetsu to his feet. Sasuke turned and glared furiously at Karin who stood there looking as if she was about to be reprimanded. However before either sound ninja could talk Hinata stepped in between them and picked up the chest.

"Give me that!" Sasuke gasped grabbing the chest violently from Hinata's hands.

"Please take it easy Uchiha-san." Hinata said, even though her eyes were dull even in the moonlight.



Sasuke's face became blank then creased slightly with worry before he turned his gaze to Karin.

"Did you find the Akatsuki?" Sasuke asked.

Karin shook her head and the Uchiha didn't miss the glance towards the Hyuuga who still stood there impassive. So that explained why she seemed so depressed. He was about to talk to the Hyuuga when a particularly loud pick up line reached his ears from the other side of the camp. He turned and glared at Suigetsu who was still trying to gage a reaction from the black haired girl.

"Your eyes there as green as emeralds." Suigetsu complemented.

"Thank you." She said in a monotone.

"And your hair it's so shiny and soft." He tried again.

"Thank you." She repeated.

"And your skin is…" Suigetsu tried once more.

"Suigetsu stop!" Karin cried frustrated. "I'm telling you now that she will only say thank you!"

"Well who are these people anyway?" Sasuke asked bitterly.

"Um well I guess I'll begin the introductions…" a red headed girl came up to the young Uchiha. "Hi I'm Kasumi and you are?" she held out her hand waiting for him to take it.

Sasuke scoffed and Kasumi's hand fell to her side, and for good measure she backed up a little.

"Like you don't know." He said smirking.

"I don't." Kasumi said. "That's why I asked you to introduce yourself."

"Oh burn man!" Suigetsu laughed, clutching his sides. "I think this is a start of a beautiful friendship." He finished draping an arm around Kasumi's shoulders.

"Uh yeah." She said awkwardly. "I'm Kasumi, you?"



"Suigetsu but that's not the point." Suigetsu said smiling kindly. "As my new friend I have a request."

"Alright…" Kasumi agreed and watched as he pointed to the black haired girl again.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Oh!" she smiled. "Ne Yuki, Sora, Rikku introductions!

The dark haired girl walked towards them before bowing to the red head.

"Yes Ojou-sama." She then stood straight and turned to face Suigetsu. "Narumi Yuki **(A/N: Does anyone recognize that last name?)**,it is nice meeting you Suigetsu-san."

"So your name is Yuki huh?" he flirted.



"Will you just stop and tell me why these people are here!" Sasuke cried his eyes turning red with the Sharingan.

"Oh so you're an Uchiha…" Kasumi said drifting off.

"Uchiha Sasuke to be more precise Ojou-sama." Yuki answered her.

"They are my friends Sasuke-san." Hinata said her eyes remaining fixed on the Uchiha. "They have decided to help us in our quest."

Sasuke scoffed and turned away only to be met with the happy face of one of the twins.

"Hello Sasuke-chan." She teased. "My names Sora."

"Chan?" Sasuke and Karin said in unison both equally annoyed.

"And this is Rikku." she said pulling the identical looking girl in front of her.



"H-hello U-Uchiha-s-san." She said bowing.

He was about to respond when he heard a slightly pained gasp come from behind him. They all turned in time to see Hinata fall to the ground on her knees and hold her wrist as a curious white light shone slightly through her pale fingers. Yuki made it to her first and knelt with her before prying her fingers from her wrist. The bracelet glowed bright white and Yuki only dared to ghost her fingers across it before gasping out in shock and pain.

"Hinata-san we must remove the bracelet." Yuki said her monotone ever present.

"No!" she gasped hiding her wrist from the other girls view.

"Onegai Hinata!" Kasumi cried. "It's hurting you!"

"I agree." Sasuke said.

"I promised Gaara I would never take it off and I will keep my promise." Hinata retorted.

"But if it causes this much pain…" Sora began.

"We'll take it off by force if we have to." Karin said.

"Wait you don't have to!" she said suddenly holding out her wrist for inspection. "See it's not burning me anymore!"

"Yuki." Kasumi commanded and almost immediately the dark haired girl clamped her hand around Hinata's wrist.

"She is correct Ojou-sama it is no longer burning." Yuki said.

"Well now that that's cleared up can we leave please?" Hinata said a little anxious.

"I agree with Hinata," Jugo said for the first time since the return of Sasuke and Suigetsu.

"Alright then we're off." Kasumi said getting on to a large tiger that appeared from the bushes. "Where are we headed?" she asked as Sora and Yuki also climbed on.

"Next our stop is the grass village." Hinata said pulling everyone up onto Jugo's bird quickly.



"Why grass village?" Kasumi asked.

"Because we have to check for the Akatsuki." Hinata answered.

"Well…" Kasumi began. "What if they are not there?"

"Then we move onto rain." Jugo answered for the Hyuuga.

"Then why don't we just split up?" Kasumi asked.

"What exactly do you mean?" Sasuke tested.

"Well why don't we go to Grass and you guys can go to rain. We'll cover more area that way and we can meet with each other on the border of grass and rain in two days?" Kasumi suggested.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Karin asked suddenly.



"Well we'll take one of you and you'll take one of us." Kasumi continued.

"I'll go!" Suigetsu offered immediately sliding off the bird and barely being able to fit on the Tiger with the three other girls.

Karin bit her lip and glanced at Sasuke who looked at her for a long few moments before nodding.

"Alright, then we'll keep this twin." Karin said gesturing to the shy girl who remained sitting next to Hinata.

"Deal, but no fighting the Akatsuki without us!" Sora chimed in.

"Same goes to you." Sasuke countered.

And with that the deal was sealed and with a few final goodbyes both groups were off heading in different directions. Karin looked down from the bird and watched the tiger disappear in the direction of the grass village.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, as he prepared to sleep.

"I'm watching them, what if something happens to Suigetsu?" Karin asked worriedly.

"Like you care." Jugo snorted.

"I do so care!" Karin said.

"Yeah if he doesn't come back you won't have someone to step all over." Jugo said rolling his eyes.

Karin was about to retort but was silenced by a quick look from Sasuke who had also silenced Jugo.

"Karin why do you miss him?" Sasuke asked.

"Well…" she began nervously. "We're a team and we've never been separated before, I'm just worried…"



"It's ok." Sasuke reassured, glaring at Jugo first to insure he wouldn't say anything.

Jugo held his hands up in surrender before he laid himself down and fell asleep. Sasuke turned back to Karin who was slightly teary.

"Get some sleep it will be better in the morning." And with that both of the sound ninja fell asleep.

Hinata glanced behind her to see Rikku lay down and within minutes she was breathing as deeply as the rest of them. Her pale fingers closed tightly around the abnormally warm bracelet and her tears would no longer be hidden. Tears dripped down her cheeks and off her chin landing with a soft thud on her jacket.

'_What's wrong?'_ her demon asked in a motherly tone.

"He's dying!" Hinata barely chocked out, her throat clogged with sorrow.

The demon was silent and it made Hinata's heart ache even more.

"I don't know what to do!" she sobbed. "What if I don't make it in time?"

Still there was no answer and Hinata leapt to her feet as if it would make the demon speak to her.

"What should I do?" She cried. "Why won't you answer me?" she tried. "Please tell me what to do!" she begged. "Please…" she whispered. "Don't leave me."

She fell to her knees her cries slightly louder, feeling all alone in this cold dark night. Rikku had never been an outgoing person but when she heard Hinata yell into the night pleading for an answer to her grief a soft spot was hit and hit hard. Fighting back her own tears and a memory of a close friend who she had never helped in an identical situation she stood and slowly began to walk towards Hinata.

"H-hinata-san?" she asked quietly, realizing the girl couldn't hear her over her cries. "Hinata-san!" she called a little louder not expecting the girl to hear it and thoroughly shocked when she turned her head to meet Rikku's in surprise.

"Go away!" she hissed, her voice almost making Rikku flinch.

"Demo Hinata-san you need help" Rikku said.



"No!" She cried again. "I don't want you to see me like this."

Rikku stood there for a moment in a loss of what to do before a smile appeared on her face and she sat down. Hinata turned her head to yell at the girl again but was surprised when she was met with the back of the girls head.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked incredulously.

"You said you didn't want me to see you like this so now I can't." Rikku answered, making Hinata laugh weakly.

"Alright you win Rikku." She sighed.

"So what's going on?" she asked still concerned.

"You remember when my bracelet turned all white and hot?" Hinata asked.



"Y-yeah?" Rikku said.

"Well that was because Gaara was getting assaulted with some foreign chakra, some very strong foreign chakra." Hinata said her voice holding a note of anger and resentment. "Gaara's chakra is different, warming instead of burning." She said fondly as she slipped the bracelet off. "There are times when it gets a little uncomfortable but never like this."

She then twisted her arm so Rikku could see her wrist, the other girl gasped at the large red burn that scarred her pale arm. The other girl gasped and gently touched her friend's wrist.

"He's dying and I just pray we make it there before it's too late." Hinata said.

Rikku sat in silence for a minute not knowing how to cheer up the Hyuuga when a question that had been bothering her finally surfaced.

"Who were you talking to about it before?" Rikku asked.

Hinata sat there silent not knowing if she should tell her about the demon residing within her. Taking a hand and wiping away the rest of her tears before turning around to face Rikku catching the other girl by surprise. However when she looked into the girls shocked green eyes she began to have second thoughts. She bit her lower lip and her eyes fell to her hands in her lap.

"Hinata-san what's wrong?" she asked.

"I was just going to show you something but…" she started.

"You had second thoughts because it's personal isn't it?" Rikku asked.

The Hyuuga only nodded and remained quite. Suddenly the other girl came up with an idea but her face turned very serious as she reached over and got her bag.

"I will show you something that will forever change your opinion about me if you tell me your secret first." Rikku said.

Hinata reluctantly nodded however she was reassured by the other girl's stoic expression. Slowly taking a deep breath she began to speak.

"About a year ago I was captured by the Akatsuki so I could be used for a few…experiments." Hinata said softly. "And while I was there they put something inside me."

"What was it?" Rikku asked softly and gently.



"A demon." Hinata revealed not noticing Rikku's eyes widen significantly.

"What does it look like?" she said her voice shaky and breathless.

Hinata was about to answer when she realized Rikku knew a lot more then she had told her. Rikku grew impatient waiting for the Hyuuga's answer and instead asked another question.

"Did it look like a cat?" Rikku asked stunning Hinata. "Does it use fire? Answer me!"

"It does…how did you know?" Hinata asked.

Ignoring her question Rikku only stared at her with sorrowful eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. Without warning she hugged Hinata tightly and began crying hard.

"I won't let you down I promise!" she cried. "I'll listen this time and I'll be there… please Suki forgive me."



"Suki?" Hinata asked pulling away from Rikku.

The girl looked up stunned as if she didn't realize she had just called Hinata by the wrong name. Then a small watery smile broke out on her face and she took a deep breath as well.

"Well I guess I should start with the truth, my name isn't Rikku and my sister's name isn't Sora." She began.

"Then what is your name?" Hinata asked exasperated.

"Well my name is Aimi and my sister's name is Aya. And we're not twins." Rikku said. "We are actually two of six and we have two brothers."

"You mean you have five sisters?" Hinata asked astonished.

"Yup five identical sisters and two brothers who are twins." Rikku said.

"Where's the rest of your family?" Hinata asked.

"When my sister and I were around six years old our mother took us and our siblings to live in the rock village for a few weeks." She said softly. "We were street performers but my sister and I wanted to be ninja. So on the last day we went to see the Kage and he gladly adopted us. He…was a very kind old man. Our mother gave us away glad with two less mouths to feed and we trained to be ninja. One day we were sent on a mission to escort a very important delegate halfway to thunder and take one of our delegates back home. That's when we met Yuki who was originally from the rain village and a hired body guard and Kasumi daughter of the lord of the land of fire. And our delegate being brought to us by another girl named…Suki. When we went to go switch the delegates we were attacked by the Akatsuki. At first we thought they were after the delegates but they were really after Suki. She transformed into her demon, a cat like monster that controlled fire, and attacked, she must have been confused on who the enemy was and who the allies were because both of the delegates were killed in the crossfire. We tried to help her but the Akatsuki fooled Suki into believing that they could remove the demon from inside her and she could live normally. She went with the Akatsuki and we watched as they removed the demon from her, thus resulting in her death. That's when Kasumi made a deal; she said that we would go back to the thunder village and offer ourselves as faithful ninja in a replacement for their delegate. Kasumi had to leave her whole family behind and Yuki had to leave her older brother. Sora and I changed our names but we were able to stay together. Suki asked for help from us but we never tried to sit and understand, because of that…she went crazy and I blame myself." Rikku finished.

"Don't it's not your fault." Hinata reassured.

"I won't let the same happen to you Hinata-san!" she said suddenly. "I swear."

Hinata took a deep breath and smiled her heart felt slightly lighter. Rikku was about to put her pack away and go to sleep when the Hyuuga stopped her.



"Rikku-san?" she asked.

"Yes what is it Hinata-san?" she asked exhausted.

"You said you were going to show me something in your pack after I told you about my…problem." Hinata said.

"Oh right…" she mumbled blushing slightly before reaching into her bag and pulling out three books and thrusting them into Hinata's hands.

Hinata held the books closer to her face. And slowly the titles processed in her mind. Icha Icha paradise, where had she heard that before? Suddenly it all came back to her as she remembered back when she was twelve how Naruto had explained that these were written by his perverted sensei and how the stories were all about…

"Rikku-san!" Hinata gasped her own cheeks turning pink.

"I'm a closet pervert alright!" she said snatching the books away. "Don't tell anyone p-please?"

"Alright." Hinata answered giggling.

--Page Break--

Hinata awoke with the rise of the sun and she sat up, glancing around at her awakening companions.

"Are we here?" she asked groggily.

"Yeah." Sasuke said. "We're in a surrounding forest the gates are just a little over that way."

Hinata nodded and helped the Uchiha get everyone up when they were ready to go they all walked to the gate. When they didn't automatically open Karin thought she would knock when a gruff voice seemed to come from nowhere.

"Who are you and state your business."

"Um we're just traveling ninja and our friend here is hurt." She gestured to Rikku who was half asleep leaning against Hinata. "We were hoping we could see a doctor." She finished.

"Nice try." The voice said. "I am to believe that four leaf village ninja and a thunder village ninja were just wandering the forest together and then one of you got hurt. Take your pity party else where you are not welcome here."

"Excuse me?" Karin tried again, but there was no answer. "Excuse me? EXCUSE ME!"

"It's okay Karin," Sasuke reassured realizing they would no longer be spoken to. "Let's just go."

With that the five ninja retreated back into the forest. Rikku sat down lazily on a rock while Karin paced frantically and everyone else just stood there.

"What are we going to do?" Karin asked. "We can't search the village if we can't get in there!"

"Then I guess we'll just have to watch and observe from the outside." Jugo suggested.

So all day the ninja's would switch duties off relaxing our observing the gate from a perch in a tree. The sun was setting and it was once again Hinata's turn the Hyuuga jumped onto the branch and sat not really paying attention to the gate. Instead she played with her bracelet and let her thoughts wonder to her family back in Konoha and how worried they must be. Suddenly an all too familiar voice reached her ears.



"Let me in un! NOW!"

Quickly the Hyuuga activated her Byakugan hoping beyond hope that it was who she thought it was. Sure enough she watched as the gate opened to let in the tall blonde young man who wore the traditional black cloak with red clouds.

**A/N: I know this took a long time to come out but it was really long! Okay here's a little contest. Whoever can guess who Yuki's brother is first will receive a prize of their choice (as long as I am capable of doing it!). He has been mentioned before and I even give a hint in this chapter! Anyway good luck and PLEASE REVIEW!**




	45. Chapter 45

A/N: Okay here is the next chapter

**A/N: Okay here is the next chapter. This one will be short but it will also begin the start of all the fighting. Oh and Congratulations to SasukeHinataLover who guessed right! I won't tell you who it is but you will find out later. ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

**Disclaimer: Sorry I don't own it but I wish...Or maybe I could make a sequel to the show…?**

**Chapter: 45**

Hiashi was sitting next to his youngest daughter who was getting a check up from the Hokage. The elder Hyuuga remained stoic but on the inside he was fidgeting waiting for the check up to be over so he could ask about his daughter and nephew. His head throbbed in pain and Hiashi had to bite his lip in order to restrain himself from gripping his skull in agony.

"Well it seems that Hanabi is healing quite fine." Tsunade said.

The Hyuuga leader was about to nod when a particularly painful throb spread through his head, blurring his vision. This time he couldn't help but pull at his hair as the pain continued to rush through his brain.

"Hiashi-sama?" Tsunade asked worried, placing a hand on his hunched back.

He attempted to activate his Byakugan so that he could regain control over himself however as soon as his bloodline limit was activated the pain became so intense that he passed out.

"Otou-san!" Hanabi cried sliding from the hospital table and running over to her father now lay.

Tsunade bent down and quickly ran through a few healing jutsu, when nothing seemed to work she stood and ran over to the door.

"Shizune get in here! We need a stretcher fast." Tsunade called before making it back to Hiashi.

"Will he be ok?" Hanabi asked, her voice shaky.

Tsunade let her hard amber eyes fall onto the white eyes of the smaller girl. Immediately they softened, Hanabi was scared and lost. All of this was said through her cloudy white eyes.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Hanabi." Tsunade smiled.

--Page Break--

Hinata had to restrain herself from jumping at the blonde Akatsuki. She had gotten to her feet and angled it so she would land on top of the young man when she heard a voice behind her. She lost her balance and fell from the tree landing on the poor person behind her.

"Ow…" Suigetsu moaned from underneath her.

"Suigetsu!?" Hinata cried standing.

"Yup!" the sound ninja said slowly getting to his feet.

"B-but why?" Hinata asked shocked.

"It's a long story…," he said nervously.

_Flash Back_

"_HELP ME!!" Suigetsu cried holding on tightly to Sora's waist. "I'M SLIDING OFF!"_

"_Oh!" Kasumi said suddenly. "Slow down please." She whispered into the Tigers big ear and the four-legged animal came to a sudden stop. _

_Suigetsu flew foreword and crashed through some bushes and trees before a loud 'oof' reached the three girls ears._

"_Suigetsu-san!" Sora called._

_A whimper was heard from the bushes in front of them along with four male voices._

"_What the hell!?" one said angrily. _

"_Who is that?" another asked._

"_An enemy ninja maybe." The third one piped in._

"_Or not…" the fourth one said._

_Yuki motioned for them to follow her as she made her way into the bush surrounding the group of people. _

"_Why don't you poke him?" a curious young man asked._

"_Touch me and you die!" Suigetsu spat, springing to his feet._

_Kasumi sighed before stepping from her hiding place, her other teammates also revealing themselves._

"_What'd you do that for!?" Suigetsu cried. "You could have snuck up on them!"_

"_Well you already ruined that…" Sora scoffed._

_He was about to retort when one of the young men cut him off. _

"_So you were going to sneak up on us huh?" he asked threateningly. _

"_Uh well not exactly." Kasumi said smiling nervously, trying to placate the ornery young man._

"_What do you mean not exactly?" the young man asked exasperated._

"_Yuki help!" Kasumi squeaked, knowing the dark haired girl was always the better negotiator._

"_What Kasumi-san meant." Yuki started dropping the honor-fic and watching the four _

_boys with a cautious gaze. "Is that we have come to bring you no harm, we were wondering if you could provide us with some information on an organization called the Akatsuki."_

_The four boys all paled but still had the same distrusting scowl on their face. Yuki knew she had struck a nerve and continued to talk to them, always being careful of how her statements were worded. _

"_So you do know something don't you? Do you happen to know where they're located?" Yuki said her tone as monotonous as ever._

"_Well we don't know exactly where they are." One said sheepishly. "But we have heard rumors."_

"_Rumors?" Yuki piped in immediately. "What kind of rumors?"_

"_Well the rain village has been using the grass village as a battle ground for all it's wars as long as I can remember. They say that they beat us so easily because the Kage of the village is the leader of the Akatsuki himself."_

"_I see…" Yuki contemplated her stoic face breaking into one of complete and utter thoughtfulness._

"_The rain village is full of scum." One boy bit out._

_Yuki turned her harsh gaze on him before speaking; although her tone still seemed monotonous there was no mistaking the threatening undertone in her voice. _

"_The rain village has been in a civil war for the past 40 years and everyone, including the children who were born not even ten years ago must take part and suffer." Yuki said. _

"_So if you would like to blame someone…blame YOUR Kage for killing our Kage 40 years ago."_

"_Yuki!" Kasumi said trying to get her friend to realize the grave mistake she made._

_The black haired girl nodded before turning abruptly away and stalking off through the bushes._

"_Ne Yuki!" Kasumi said chasing after her now obviously angry friend._

_However she was stooped as a Kunai was thrown near her feet. The red head stepped back but turned her hands hovering dangerously over her weapons pouch._

"_Let us pass." She said her voice no longer sweet or caring.  
_

"_No!" one boy bit out. "You know to much."_

_Kasumi's hands dove in the pouch but froze when a quiet voice deterred them all._

"_Don't worry about it Kasumi-san." Sora said walking towards her red headed friend. _

"_You worry about Yuki and go get Teir, I'll take care of them."_

"_Ha you take care of us!" one laughed. "What are you going to do kill us with you're kindness."_

_Sora frowned while Kasumi quickly left while no was watching._

"_I would never kill any of you." Sora said a little hurt. "But I guess I would be hurting you with kindness…"_

"_Prove it!" one spat getting into a fighting position._

"_But I already have…" she said smiling._

_The boys then found themselves in a field of flowers the girls brown hair that had been up in a small ponytail was now flowing down her shoulders._

"_Follow me." She said her voice echoing in their ears and holding out a hand. _

_They took the girls hand following each other in a line a hill came into their view and they climbed, with each step they became smaller and younger and younger until they reached the top. _

"_Whoa we're tiny!" one exclaimed._

"_Lets play a game!' Sora interrupted clasping two of the boy's hands._

"_What game?" one asked anxiously._

"_Ring around the rosies!" Sora smiled._

"_But that's a pansy game." One boy whined._

"_Please…" she pouted and the small boy blushed before clasping the girl's hand._

_Then they slowly began to spin in a circle chanting the familiar nursery rhyme. _

_Suigetsu's eye twitched as he watched the group of teenage boys prance in a circle holding hands and merrily singing ring around the rosies. _

"_What was that?" Suigetsu asked._

"_It was a genjutsu." Sora informed as she pulled Suigetsu away from the scene._

"_What kind of genjutsu does that?" he asked._

"_It's one out of three. This particular one is called Love of the sandman." Sora explained as they neared Yuki and Kasumi._

"_What are the other ones called?" Suigetsu asked amazed._

"_Well the second one that leaves you paralyzed is called dream of the sandman. And then there's Sleep of the sandman…"_

"_Ooo what does that one do?" he asked anxious._

"_It kills you." Sora said. "And I will never use it."_

_Suigetsu nodded slightly surprised at the younger girls power but a little disappointed he'd never get to see the Sleep of the Sandman._

"_But don't worry!" she said cocky. "Rikku is the only one I have ever seen pull off that genjutsu, it is her own creation."_

"_Lets head back to the rest of the group we don't have a plan so maybe they can come up with something." Kasumi suggested before climbing onto the huge tiger. _

_Yuki nudged Suigetsu forward making him climb on second so if they were to stop short again he wouldn't go flying. Once all four teens were on the Tiger they began to speed towards the rain village._

_End Flashback_

"What were you doing all the way out here Hinata-san?" Suigetsu asked.

"Well I was supposed to keep watch and I found an Akatsuki enter the village and I almost got carried away." She admitted, as they both began heading back to camp.

"Well I'm glad you waited for us." He offered smiling.

When they got back to camp they were met with yelling from Sora and Jugo. The brown haired girl stood her fists clenched her teammates trying to placate her.

"What do you mean we should just go in!?" Sora cried. "According to your stupid rats with wings." She continued viciously pointing towards one of his birds. "We're going against a plant, a guy with mouths on his hands, an immortal, a shark, another Uchiha, and a guy with an orange mask!"

"Well at least I've got at least some information, at least we can guess some jutsu's they do! Like the shark obviously needs to be in water."

"Actually Kisame-san doesn't usually fight with jutsu's but his sword Sameheda." Hinata interjected. "The plant is actually a man he uses some type of jutsu to hide underground and to…" she gulped. "Eat people."

"What about the immortal?" Karin asked nervous.

"That I believe is Hidan, he wields a very sharp very big scythe that I have seen chop of heads. Deidara-san is the one with the mouths and he works with explosive clay." Hinata continued knowing she owed them all at least some explanation. "Sasori-san is a puppet master without a body."

This made Kasumi shudder at the thought of an actual living puppet. Sasuke had stopped listening after hearing Uchiha, focusing only on his brother.

"Tobi is the one who wears the orange mask, however he seems nice enough." Hinata added earning disbelieving glances from the rest of the ninja's around her. "Then there is Konan and the leader."

Everyone was now looking regretful and downtrodden not wanting to attempt this suicide mission.

"But guys," Hinata began hoping to restore confidence. "We're not here to kill or fight the Akatsuki. We're here to rescue Gaara and then leave, that's it. Think of it as a simple retrieval mission."

All of them stayed silent not reassured by the Hyuuga's poor excuse for a pep talk. Until Kasumi spoke up weakly.

"Well at least we have the element of surprise right?" the red headed girl grinned.

--Page Break--

"Damn Kakashi un." Deidara cursed under his breath as he continued to try and repair his arm while making his way to the room where the rest of the Akatsuki was.

"Deidara you are late." The leaders ominous voice echoed darkly in the stone room.

"I was in a fight with Kakashi-san un, and it seems they have more reinforcements yeah." Deidara answered.

"Who else?" the leader asked his voice never changing.

"Another Hyuuga, a boy, two weirdo's in green jumpsuits, and a girl with two brown buns on her head un." Deidara said.

"And are they being taken care off?" the leaser asked.

"Kisame's got them un." Deidara said. "Kakashi is beaten up pretty bad and that obnoxious boy Naruto is nowhere to be seen un."

The leader nodded but was stopped when Deidara began to chuckle, catching not only the leaders attention but also the rest of the present Akatsuki.

"Is there anything else Deidara?" he asked feeling the blondes anxiousness at the news he was about to share.

"Hinata-chan is also here yeah." The blonde explosives expert grinned.

The leader couldn't help the low rumbling laugh from escaping him as his mind began to work on another devious plan.

"Is there something you want us to do, leader-sama?" Konan asked from his left.

"Yes set a trap, we have another tailed beast to catch before the day is through." He said.

--Page break--

"The rain village is heavily guarded." Yuki said as they began walking towards the gate. "They wont let us in without a cause."

"I have an idea." Karin said smiling and walking forward to the gate.

She knocked hard getting the gatekeepers attention.

"Who are you and what is your business in the rain village?" he asked his voice gruff and untrusting.

"I am Karin from the leaf and my comrades along with our other allies from the thunder…" the girl with glasses attempted.

"Wait the thunder and leaf villages aren't allies, there is no reason why you should be traveling together. Therefore you are lying and wasting my time." The gatekeeper said before his voice faded once again.

Karin's face flushed in anger and she banged viciously on the gate.

"Why I ought to…LET US IN RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR I WIL KNOCK THIS GATE DOWN!" she screamed.

"I'd like to see you try." Yuki scoffed. "That gates made of solid metal, everything in the rain is made of metal due to the lightening strikes."

Unexplained anger rose in Hinata and she backed away from the gate before performing a few hand signs. Once they were completed her pale fingers glowed with a soft blue chakra and her eyes stared determined at the gate.

"Hinata what are you doing!? Sasuke exclaimed.

"If they wont let us in then I'll break us in!" the Hyuuga explained sullenly.

"They'll catch us right away!" Suigetsu tried.

"The gate will be down by then." Hinata said her voice confident.

Everyone looked at Yuki, the only one who knew anything about the inner workings of the rain village.

"You better knock it down in one hit Hinata-san or we will be in definite trouble." Yuki answered the unasked question.

Karin was quickly pulled from the gate as Hinata began to charge, however a somewhat scared and surprised voice stopped her.

"Hyuuga Hinata!?" the voice said.

Her momentum was hard enough to control and thinking quickly she spun around trying to use the friction to her advantage. Whom she saw was nowhere near as shocked to see her, as she was to see him.

"Narumi, Akihiko?" Hinata said her voice showing how shocked she really was.

His face had healed well but he still had a few scars and the slight angle of his nose hinted that it had been broken many times before.

"Ni-san?" Yuki asked, her voice betraying her calm face.

Slowly the young man turned to face his younger sister and a smile graced his lips, before tears came to his eyes.

"Yuki-nee-chan. I thought you were dead…" he said before rushing over to her and sweeping her into a tight embrace.

However the girl stood limply in his arms, her stoic demeanor not once slipping. But when she spoke her voice held warmth that wasn't there before.

"Aniki." She began. "We need to get into the village without drawing much attention. Any ideas?"

He held her out at arms length to examine her eyes, looking for the old mischievous glint. Barely a flicker more like a ghost and he knew she was the same younger sister she was three years ago.

"Just one. But are you all up to it?" He asked smiling.

"I think we could manage." Yuki answered for the group.

--Page Break--

Hiashi awoke in the hospital. He could tell that much just from the strong smell of disinfectant. He glanced over to his side and saw his youngest daughter slouched and sleeping in the chair next to him and allowed a smile to pass over his usually stoic face. It seemed the only time his daughters ever rested were in their sleep. He reached over slowly and gently squeezed his daughter's hand. Not enough to wake her up but just enough to reassure him that someone was with him. As his hard eyes gazed upon his daughter he felt a small trickle of something warm from his nose. His face screwed up in a grimace disgusted at what the mysterious substance was. He looked around and found a tissue and immediately wiped away the offending fluid.

Taking the white tissue and bringing it to his eyes, preparing to glare at the mucus that he expected he was surprised that what he expected wasn't there at all. Instead he saw crimson staining the tiny fibers. He gasped as he felt another trickle fall from his nose. Grabbing another tissue he tried to stem the steady flow coming from his nose. Tilting he regal head back, he began to go through various ways he was taught to rid himself of a nosebleed as a child. But still it would not stop.

"Hanabi!" his voice came out raspy and weak, but effectively raising his child.

"Otou-sama?" Hanabi said wearily, but her eyes immediately snapped open when she saw the stream of blood coming from her fathers nose.

"Get Tsunade-sama." He said weakly.

Hanabi nodded before dashing out of the room. Hiashi was now vaguely aware of the dull headache he seemed to have. It throbbed and his memories came flooding back, ending with him passing out from the pain that had shot through to his very brain.

A moment later Tsunade entered with Hanabi her face grim and Hanabi explaining what had happened. Hiashi looked into the Hokage's amber eyes and he felt the dread rise in his chest.

"I'm sorry Hiashi-san." She began her voice quiet.

"Sorry for what?" Hanabi asked frantically. "What's going on Otou-san?"

"Silence Hanabi." Hiashi said sternly. "What is it?" he voiced his question dreading the answer he was about to receive.

"A brain tumor." She said her voice becoming steady. "I'm sorry but your going to die."

--Page Break--

"Let us in." Akihiko cried, his team standing behind him anxiously.

"Who goes there, what is your purpose?" the ominous voice snapped form behind the huge gate.

"Narumi, Akihiko and his team, from the mission of gathering information on the stone village." Akihiko said sternly.

"Fine enter." The gruff voice said reluctantly.

Slowly the metal gate screeched open. Akihiko nodded to his team and the slowly walked into the village. The guardian of the gate thought he saw blurs coming at the sides of the group of teens. Chalking it up to exhaustion and anxiety he growled in frustration rubbing his eyes furiously.

"Hurry up or I'll close the gate on you."

Suddenly the two heaviest, most impenetrable gates in all the history of the rain village exploded.

**A/N: YAY done. Sorry for preparing to kill Hiashi off. I don't think he's that bad of a guy but this NEEDS to happen for the rest of the story. REVIEW!**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Here's another chapter and I want to ask for more reviews. I don't want to seem selfish but it makes me feel good when I hear all of your great comments! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter: 46**

Everything passed in a blur. The rain Chunin that had been guarding the gate was blown back from the sheer force of the explosion. His back landed hard on a metal pole making it crack and send numbness through him. More ninja from the village sprinted towards the gate and were also blown back by another volley of explosions. The metal twisted and bended to make an odd flower like shape, it's petals stained a dark red. Hinata's Byakugan eyes focused on them for just a moment as she led Sora, Rikku, and Jugo into the village. Her eyes were not staring ahead instead they were focused on Sasuke, Karin, and Akihiko's team as they continued with explosions and fireballs. Kasumi and Yuki had sprinted inside using the first blast as cover and were setting up more explosions to demolish the gate

_Flash Back_

"_They say the Akatsuki hideout is underneath the kage tower." One of Akihiko's teammates informed showing them the small map of the village. "According to Jugo-sans calculations the hide out should be underneath the ground fifty feet and over to the left five meters."_

"_Alright then my team, Yuki and Kasumi could help with most of the explosions on this side…" Akihiko said._

"_Well the question now is how are we going to get into the hideout. I'm sure there's a secret entrance inside the tower but I don't think they will let us waltz in there." Suigetsu scoffed. _

_That's when he realized all eyes were on him and he felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him and he couldn't help the slight beads of sweat that began on his forehead._

"_What? Why is everyone staring at me?" Suigetsu asked._

"_Well we were hoping." Karin began. "That since you could turn into water that you could sneak in and slowly place bombs around the tower."_

"_Are you kidding!?" Suigetsu asked disbelievingly. "That's a suicide mission!"_

_He couldn't ignore the pleading looks from his teammates and sighed he would do it if only for__** her**__. But he still wouldn't give up that easily._

"_Even if I did do it a few lousy paper bombs aren't going to take down a giant tower like that." Suigetsu said exasperated._

"_That's why we have this." One of Akihiko's teammates grinned pulling out a long red stick it was slightly dusty and a string attached to the top._

"_What's that?" Suigetsu asked skeptically._

"_It's an explosive from the west…called dynamite." He said._

"_It's not that impressive." Suigetsu snorted._

_The boy smiled before standing, beckoning them to follow. They came to a small river and the boy lit the long string attached to the red stick. Waiting until it came impossibly close to the stick he threw it towards the water. Suddenly the air around them shook with the sheer shock waves of the explosion. The water shot up like a geyser and the remaining water held dead and alive fish alike. Suddenly the water that had shot up began to pour down onto them. Sora and Rikku began to giggle while everyone else stood awe struck. _

"_I think that'll work." Suigetsu said weakly._

_End Flashback_

Hinata caught sight of Suigetsu he stood by the tower honing his swords skills while brutally murdering as many enemy ninja as he could. The Hyuuga winced visibly, his cruelty making her stomach flip flop. He had been so kind to her and watching as he relentlessly cut down each person that came near him.

"Hinata hurry!" Rikku cried as she turned to stop any following ninja.

Quickly Hinata made the hand seals for her fireball jutsu. After the fireball itself was created she directed the small flames to light all of the sticks of dynamite before tackling Suigetsu to the ground and using her water pouch she kept to make a sound proof barrier around the two shinobi. Within moments the dynamite string finally died straight to the stick. Sora and Rikku who had been defending the other two leaf ninja were blown to the ground from the force of the massive explosion. The water around the two teens shook with ripples and it got so intense that the water shield fell only moments after the explosion ended. The Hyuuga's arms felt like jello and she quickly rolled off of Suigetsu and shook them hoping to regain some feeling in her appendages. The young man made of water absorbed a few of the droplets on the ground as he pushed himself up with one hand. Their eyes were drawn to the tower as it seemingly stayed in tact. Hinata's eyes narrowed the Byakugan searching the building for newly found weak spots. Not a second later did her eyes widen.

"Move," she whispered to Suigetsu, standing up and backing away slowly from the tower.

"What?" he asked, turning his attention to her, and not noticing the tower begin to sway.

"MOVE!" She screamed and grabbed onto his arm roughly pulling him behind her.

--Page Break--

"Owie." Sora mumbled in the dirt as she slowly tried to ease herself up, ignoring the burns that stretched across her back and had burned her over shirt to cinders.

Rikku was already up tending to the angry marks that encompassed her arm and leg.

"MOVE!" they heard Hinata scream.

Both of them sat there in shock as they saw Hinata dragging Suigetsu behind her as she sprinted towards them. Wordlessly she grabbed Rikku by the arm and began to drag her along with them as Suigetsu barely managed to snatch the back of Sora's shirt. The blue eyed twin let herself be dragged backwards as she watched the once great tower begin to implode and collapse in on itself. Papers and debris came at them in a rising tidal wave and within moments they wouldn't be able to out run the oncoming threat.

"Alright that's it!" Suigetsu cried forming hand signs with his free hand. "Earth style: Shiro Usagi no jutsu!"

Hinata had little time to register what was happening as a giant hole appeared before her and they couldn't stop soon enough so they all went crashing into the crevice in the ground. Poor Hinata got the worst end of the deal as she went crashing down to the bottom everyone falling on top of her afterward.

A large boulder then blocked off the hole and they all heard the remains f the tower spilling out across the landscape. The world roared at them from above and no one dared to move. Then without warning all noise stopped. Nothing reached their ears and they stood their silent and awed staring where the sky would be. Suddenly Rikku's shaky breath brought them all back to earth and everything seemed to come crashing in on them all at once. It became unbearably loud in their small hole and Sora couldn't stand it any more. Before Sora could act Suigetsu beat her to it. With a few hand signs and a mumbled jutsu the water ninja's rough scared hands turned long and gleamed like metal as his hands turned to claws. Using his new hands he began to climb up the earthen wall when he reached the top he mumbled another jutsu before burrowing a hole through the debris that certainly covered them by now. Slowly the three girls hoisted each other out with Suigetsu's help from the top.

"Thank you." Hinata said as he finished pulling her out of the hole that immediately closed, threatening to swallow anyone who dared to linger.

They looked around and saw nothing, none of the debris stirred; the air around them was smoky and gray hindering their vision except for Hinata.

"We lost all of our comrades." Rikku said her voice weak. "What do we do now?"

Sora and Suigetsu shook their heads, no one new quite what to do, but Hinata spoke stating her opinion on the topic.

"I say we keep going." Hinata stated her voice calm.

"How can you say that?" Sora asked disbelievingly. "Our small army is now done to four, and two of us are injured."

"They would want us to go on." Hinata defended.

"How would you know?" Suigetsu cried. "I just lost the one and only person I EVER loved."

"And who would that be Suigetsu-baka?" Karin asked from behind him.

He turned abruptly and without missing a beat answered in an overdramatic voice.

"Yuki my sweet!" this time he almost tackled her.

"That is slightly painful Suigetsu-san," she said aware of her elder brothers extreme glare fixed on the ex water ninja as his arms stayed wrapped around her waist.

Hinata sighed in relief, glad that her comrades were okay. She had been so distracted by their brewing argument that she hadn't seen them coming.

"Where's everyone else?" Hinata asked Akihiko, suddenly realizing the absence of his comrades.

"They're over there." He pointed towards the clouds of dust. "They're trying to dig out anymore survivors."

Hinata looked down ashamed of all the deaths that were caused cause of their mission. However deep in her heart she knew she would have went on with or without them.

"Hey guys!" Suigetsu called, his voice breaking her out of her reverie. "Take a look at this!"

"What is it you annoying toad!?" Karin asked running over the debris to join him where the tower once stood.

Everyone soon joined them at the now huge dark pit.

"Wow." Kasumi said her voice echoing to her from the depths of the pit. "This is really cool!"

"You think they heard us?" Sasuke turned to Hinata smirking.

"There's only one way to find out." She said her face still impassive. "I'll jump down first, if I don't call up to you guys it's to dangerous and you shouldn't come down there."

"Well how do we know you just don't want us to follow you Hinata-san?" Jugo asked.

"You'll just have to trust me." Without another word Hinata hoisted took a deep breath and jumped straight down into the blackness that seemed to swallow all light.

She fell for a long time, unaware of where her body was, as if she was suspended in space. But that thought quickly fell from her mind as she banged her head hard on one of the damp stonewalls. Inhaling sharply Hinata was barely able to contain a shout. Moments later she landed hard on something that was meant to be soft. This time she couldn't help but yelp as something viciously poked her in the back. Forced by something unknown to her, her legs were pushed up; her knee could touch her forehead if she tried. The darkness was still preventing her vision. Feeling around blindly she felt the sharp branches that had bended her body to make it easier for them, and the leaf's that were slowly falling from the branches every time she moved. She was suddenly reminded of the cannibal plant man and she stood up immediately. It was to quickly however and she fell back, about to land in the bush once again. However a hand reached out and pulled her up so she wouldn't fall.

"Thank you!" she said, her voice breathless.

"No problem," an unfamiliar voice said, and Hinata just then noticed the man that had helped her was not her friend.

For one, he was wearing the trademark black cloak with red clouds. Hinata almost fainted as she just noticed the large Venus flytrap shielding his head.

--Page Break--

"Do you think we should go down there?" Kasumi asked, peering into the gloom.

"NO!" they all shouted at her except Yuki who silently shook her head.

"Geez I was just asking." Kasumi mumbled.

Moments passed in silence and Kasumi grew more impatient by the second.

"She's been down there a looooonnnnngggggg time." Kasumi said rocking back and forth on her heels.

"SHHHHHHHHHH!" they all hissed at her, making her pout and cross her arms.

A yelp came up from the darkness and they all exchanged glances, Sasuke handed Karin one of their packs that held the remaining bombs they hadn't needed to use.

"I'm going in." Sasuke stated for everyone to hear.

"So what! There's no noise and she's almost been down there for ten minutes then you guys hear a yelp and we can go in!" Kasumi mumbled. "So not fair."

"Ojou-sama," Yuki said softly. "Onegai stay away from the edge of the pit."

"Alright alright." Kasumi said defeated, however as she moved one of her feet she slid and fell backwards into the pit.

She screamed in surprise for the first few seconds before she looked up to see the outline of Yuki jump in after her. Waiting for one person to go at a time was soon forgotten as they all jumped in, in a single file line.

--Page Break--

"Aren't you going to call your little friends?" the man teased.

Hinata shook her head viciously and tried to glare at him in the gloom. Instead of being intimidated he laughed. Her cheeks flushed and she was about to say something when she heard a scream come from above them. The Hyuuga sighed in exasperation and the plant mans smile grew even wider.

--Page Break--

Unfortunately for her Kasumi landed head down so when she hit the already trampled down bush she hit also hit her head on the floor.

"OW!!" She howled as she sat up, forgetting that Yuki was only a few feet above her.

Yuki landed hard on Kasumi, then Akihiko landed on top of Yuki, whose arm was twisted underneath everyone and broke. Sora was next, trying to land on her feet; she was able to stay upright for only a few seconds as she realized she had landed towards on Akihiko's groin and she slid an fell, kicking him in the jaw on the way down. Rikku was next and she landed on his chest, but the burns that were still present on her arm and leg seared when she struck up against him. Suigetsu fell next, hitting the top of the pile then sliding off onto the floor, he was almost reassured that he wasn't stuck at all until his sword, that had fell from his back during the fall came spiraling down and landed with a thunk right in between his open legs. Jugo then proceeded to land on top of Suigetsu.

"OW! Get your FAT ASS OFF ME!" Suigetsu cried.

Sasuke who had waited a few minutes before jumping, holding tightly onto Karin's wrist, was the only one who landed with some knowledge of where he was. Although he didn't expect the drop to take so long he was still able to land with Karin away from the pile of ninja's.

--Page break--

"Guys I told you to wait!" Hinata cried exasperated as the giant plant man let go of her hand.

"Well we heard you yelp so we came early!" Kasumi gasped from the bottom of the huge pile up. "Now will everyone PLEASE GET OFF?"

Within seconds the pile was able to detangle themselves, Sasuke freed Suigetsu from his awkward position with his sword, while Karin fixed Yuki's broken arm. Hinata turned back to the plant man.

"Let us pass Venus flytrap freak." Hinata growled.

"Aww that hurts my feeling Hinata-hime." The plant man taunted. "My name is Zetsu and you and your friends should apologize for ruining my bush."

"Let us pass Zetsu." Sasuke threatened drawing his Katana.

"I'm not here to stop you Uchiha-san." Zetsu said, his voice taking on a more serious quality. "Actually I'm here to make sure you get to see our leader, so if you'll please follow me this way."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Kasumi asked.

"HINATA-CHAN!" a loud hyperactive voice came from nowhere and Zetsu sighed.

"Tobi I said you could come if you were quite." Zetsu sighed.

But the Hyper masked young man pushed past his partner and swept Hinata into a tight hug.

"I missed you Hinata-chan." Tobi cried but Hinata pulled away.

"Tobi you took someone who is very important to me and I want him back." Hinata said as if she was talking to a small child.

"That's why I'm here Hinata-chan!" Tobi said grasping her hands. "I'll bring you to Gaara-kun!"

"You haven't done anything awful to him have you?" Hinata asked in a soft voice.

"Of course not!" Tobi cried before pulling her after him as he pushed past Zetsu.

"Hinata!" Sasuke hissed following them along with everyone else, Zetsu bringing up the rear. "Is it ok to trust these guys?"

"I don't know Sasuke but we don't have a choice." Hinata whispered back.

Soon the twelve shinobi stopped in a large vaulted room. Tobi let go of Hinata and Zetsu walked in front of them. They both disappeared and the younger ninja's were left alone and scared.

"They didn't even block the exit," Sora mused out loud.

"There is no need." A sudden cold voice echoed down at them as two figures appeared before them.

"Konan." Hinata gasped.

She simply glared at her, and the Hyuuga's eyes fell onto the equally cold and menacing eyes of the leader of the Akatsuki.

"Where's Gaara!?" Hinata cried.

"I don't think I'll tell you." He said coldly. "At least not for another few hours. I'm also saddened to have to say that you, Miss Hyuuga will be staying with us this time."

"Over our dead bodies!" Suigetsu said, speaking for the whole group. "The exit isn't blocked, we could leave right now."

"I told you," he said again this time the stone walls of the hideout began to dissolve around them.

"Genjutsu!" Rikku hissed as the walls turned a bright sky blue and they realized they were no longer on the ground but in the sky on clouds.

"You won't be able to find your way out."

**A/N: The next chapter will be really long so it might take a while but as always review! Oh and I have a quick question. If I were to write a sequel qould you guys read it?**


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: okay well once again this chapter is all about what happens at the Akatsuki lair while Sakura and Chiyo are fighting Sasor

**A/N: okay well once again this chapter is all about what happens at the Akatsuki lair while Sakura and Chiyo are fighting Sasori, while Kakashi and company are fighting Deidara, and Gai's team is fighting Kisami. Unfortunately I haven't watched these episodes and only know the basic details I will not be writing those battles but they will be mentioned briefly in the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own the show but I do own this story**

**Chapter: 47**

Sora yelped and clung onto her sister, she had always been afraid of heights and seeing the ground so far below her made it even worse. No one dared to move not comprehending what the exact details of the genjutsu. They looked at each other, fear reflecting in all of their eyes, and a loud rumbling laugh filled their heads.

"Aww. My poor little leaf shinobi, are scared." the leader said standing on a lone cloud across from their's, Konan no where in sight. "But I assure you as long as you have good balance." he continued and with a flick of his wrist the cloud they were on lurched forward.

Hinata gasped and grabbed onto Sasuke and Rikku who were closest to her, as Sora clung desperately to Suigetsu as their feet stumbled trying to find a solid balance on the cloud.

"As I was saying," he continued, halting the cloud. "If you keep your balance you should be fine, however if you fall you wont see your friends ever again."

"You CHEATER!" Hinata cried, leaping the distance between them.

However the leader moved the cloud he was on backwards and Hinata's foot missed the floating safety and she began to fall back, her white eyes widening in shock and horror.

"Hinata!" all her friends cried.

"Grab on to this!" Suigetsu suggested shoving his sword forward, holding the blade and instructing Hinata to grab the hilt.

The ex water ninja winced in pain and blood dripped from his hand onto the cloud as Hinata's added weight to the hilt dug the blade deeper into his hands. Everyone helped pull the Hyuuga up and onto the cloud again. She sat their catching her breath and glaring at the man that still stood across from them.

"I wouldn't stay still for to long Hyuuga-san." the leader taunted as he rolled the cloud they were on backwards.

"Hinata!" Sora cried seeing the move coming before everyone else.

She grabbed Hinata under the arms and pulled her up, the momentum however sent her backwards and tumbling over the edge. Letting out a choked scream she began to fall backwards. Closing her eyes tightly she braced herself for death when she felt someone grab her hand.

"Rikku?" she gasped as her eyes opened again. "What are you doing."

"Taking your place, remember I love you." Rikku said before throwing Sora as high as she could with her chakra pumped arm.

Yuki and Kasumi caught their friend's arm and quickly pulled her up. Turning quickly she saw her sister plummeting quickly to the ground. Yuki and Kasumi held her in place as she screamed and tried to pull away from them in order to reach her sister.

"Sora I'm so sorry." Hinata said tears falling down her own cheeks.

The other girl looked at her and latched onto Hinata crying into her jacket.

--page break--

Rikku knew she was going to die so she turned and laid flat on her back as she cut through the air. Although unlike the common misconception her life didn't flash before her eyes quite the contrary really. She didn't think of anything at all. Surprisingly her mind was extremely blank and she was serene, ok with dying. Flipping over as if she was performing a belly flop she stared at the ground. Her vision spun violently and she shut her eyes tight preparing to die. Suddenly Rikku's eyes snapped open and she inhaled sharply, quickly covering her mouth to stifle her gasp, as her legs shook with tremors.

She saw that when she had opened her eyes she wasn't staring at God who would be ready to judge her. Instead she stared at the gloomy walls of the Akatsuki hideout, looking around she saw all her friends standing around her staring blankly ahead at the motionless leader of the Akatsuki. Her heart rate began to pick up and she thought quickly. When she had fallen from the 'sky' she had really fell out of the genjutsu. If she woke up her friends one by one they could attack the Akatsuki leader while he was still caught in his own trick, but she wasn't sure what the reaction would be if they were just torn out of the jutsu as this time. However she needed help. Turning to Sora she began hand signs preparing to wake her sister up first, however she was interrupted mid jutsu when Konan aimed a punch at the girls head. She was able to dodge it at first and quickly crawled away. But Konan caught her in the back with a drop kick. Rikku grunted and rolled away bumping into Suigetsu's leg. Slowly the young mans body crumpled in on itself and he fell to the ground next to her. Blood staining his sword and hands.

--Page Break--

They had been moving with the cloud for what seemed like hours. All of them were tiring quickly. However most of them were able to almost land a hit on the unbelievably powerful man before them.

"I don't know how long we'll be able to keep this up." Karin sighed.

"Nothing we're trying is working!" Sora cried resentfully.

"Well I'm not going to give up." Hinata said a little tired, before leaping at the leader again.

Once again she was pushed back, landing uncomfortably back on the cloud where everyone else was waiting for them. Suigetsu was preparing to attack and when he jumped his body stopped midair and fell, plummeting to his doom as well.

"What's going on?" Karin cried.

"Where did Suigetsu go?" Jugo asked the leader threateningly.

Hinata felt the air around her change, the atmosphere became thick and it was getting harder for her to breathe. Glancing around she tried to see if anyone else noticed but if they did they showed no signs.

'He's nervous.' The demon observed.

Hinata didn't say anything, but she realized that what had happened to Suigetsu wasn't following the leaders plans.

--Page Break--

Suigetsu awoke with almost the same reaction as Rikku. He looked up at the brown haired girl whose eyes were fixed on to something else. Slowly he sat up, ignoring the pain that made his body ache.

"What's going on...are we...dead?" Suigetsu asked quietly.

"No but we will be if we don't move!" Rikku cried.

The two teenagers scrambled to their feet just as a giant origami crane came at them.

"What the heck kind of attack is this?" he cried.

"She's making origami!" Rikku cried as she made him weave between their motionless friends.

"The art of paper folding!?" he cried. "So she's going to kill us with some fancy folding and a pretty animal shape?"

"I have a feeling that if it catches us it wont be pretty!" Rikku cried as the crane swooped down on them.

"You need to explain what the heck's going on!" Suigetsu cried grabbing her and jumping away from another dive bomb attack. "And I don't mean to be rude or anything but why aren't you dead!?"

"Look I have no time to explain, but we have to get everyone out of this stupor before we're crushed by some origami." Rikku cried.

Suigetsu skidded to a halt before unsheathing his sword, wincing at the pain in his hands where he had grabbed the blade, even in his stupor.

"I am tired of running from freaking PAPER!" he cried slicing the giant crane in half with one clean swipe of his sword.

They were silent for a few moments as the paper floated softly to the ground, showing no hints of being alive.

"Ha, sword beats paper." He said, shoving the sword in the ground so he wouldn't have to burden his hands with it any longer.

Turning he saw Rikku's beaming face and he smirked, feeling proud of himself. He chuckled deeply while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. However Rikku's face switched from admiration to complete and utter disbelief. Suigetsu straightened and looked at her questioningly. The rustle of paper behind him answered all his questions. But his eyes had to see for themselves, turning he saw the two sliced apart pieces of paper began to fold themselves quickly and made two more cranes. Without warning they doubled and Suigetsu stood in front of four large, vicious paper birds.

"Ahh shit!" he cursed.

--Page Break--

"JUGO!" Karin cried as the large young man was blown back away from the leader.

Jugo couldn't believe that the leader of the Akatsuki had beaten him so easily, even in berserker mode. Kasumi was about to launch an attack when the leader spoke again.

"I grow weary of this tiresome game children," he sneered. "I would like it if the jinchuriki would kindly come with me and all of this will be over."

"Junchiruiki?" a few of them whispered.

Hinata's heart hammered in her chest. She didn't want anyone to know about her special friend yet and wasn't sure of how they would act. The leaders gaze shifted to her and another low rumbling chuckle filled the air around them.

"Ahh so she hasn't told you yet has she." He asked.

Sasuke was about to respond when Hinata saw another cloud coming towards them and quickly jumped on it. This put distance between her and the leader that she couldn't leap across. Another cloud wasn't floating to far away. Hinata leaped onto that one next.

"Stop that immediately." The leader said his voice low with malice.

Hinata realized that the leaders controlled diminished the further away you were from him.

"Come on guys follow me!" Hinata called.

--Page break--

"How are we going to lose the birds?" Rikku asked her speech coming in short gasps.

"We need something that will eliminate them in one big blow." Suigetsu answered breathing as hard as she was, while doing their umpteenth lap around the chamber they were confined in. "Something like…something like…"

"FIRE!" Rikku cried.

"Yeah, fire!" Suigetsu said smiling at her.

"No I mean FIRE!" Rikku shouted.

Both ninjas watched in shock and awe as a paper dragon began to descend from the ceiling, flames billowing from its nostrils. They both whipped around to see the four cranes coming at them from the other side.

"Rikku." Suigetsu whispered as they got back to back.

"Yeah?" she asked in an equally hushed tone.

"I'll replace us with two water clones then we make a break for it and try to wake up Sasuke." Suigetsu said.

"What can Sasuke do?" Rikku asked.

"He knows all of the fireball jutsu's and can incinerate these paper things." Suigetsu hissed.

"Are you sure this will work?" Rikku asked helping to shield his hands as he formed his jutsu.

"No but do you have a better idea?" he asked.

"No." Rikku admitted.

"Alright, on three then." Suigetsu alleged. "One…two…THREE! Water clone jutsu!"

Multiple copies of them swarmed the small room and the real Rikku and Suigetsu were making their way over to the Uchiha.

"How do we wake him up?" Suigetsu asked. "We're running out of clones." He commented watching as the dragon origami burned a good portion of their look a likes.

"I'll try most of my genjutsu specials." Rikku said.

Her hands went through a lot of seals in a short amount of time and Suigetsu wondered briefly how she was able to do them so fast. His eyes turned back to the other battle watching as there were only ten clones or so left.

"Not this one." Rikku said before going into more hand signs.

"Rikku hurry up!" Suigetsu snapped readying his sword.

"This takes time you know! This isn't a basic genjutsu so get off my back!" Rikku said defensively.

"Why don't we just knock him awake?" Suigetsu asked.

"That might have some negative effects on his body!" Rikku said, before muttering a curse as another one of her solutions failed.

"Well screw the after effects!" Suigetsu cried as they were once again surrounded. "WAKE UP ASS HOLE!" he cried jabbing the hilt into the back of Sasuke's head.

This action made the Uchiha tip and knock over Yuki with him.

--Page Break--

Sasuke yelped in pain as he felt something hit him in the back of the head, feeling himself falling backwards he grabbed onto the closest thing, being Yuki. Kasumi and Sora dove for their friend's hands and held up Yuki and Sasuke who still clung tightly to her.

"Let go Uchiha!" Yuki snapped.

"And die? I don't think so!" Sasuke cried.

"Guys hurry!" Hinata said. "The leader is catching up."

"Well if someone else convinced the Uchiha to let go of Yuki we might be able to save one of them before it's to late." Sora ground out.

"Sasuke! Yuki!" Hinata cried leaping back towards them. "Here Sasuke you grab my hand and then Sora and Kasumi can lift up Yuki and I'll lift up you!"

They tried this little procedure, only succeeding in making Kasumi, Sora, and Hinata tilt dangerously over the side and Sasuke's grip to slacken. Yuki felt the urge to kick at Sasuke in order to make him let go. It was nothing against the Uchiha it was just what she was taught as a bodyguard. As long as she lived Kasumi would be safe, Kasumi's life was worth more then fifteen of their lives.

_Flash Back_

"_Yuki," the older man called approaching the small girl who continued to train with another older student. _

"_Hai Sensei?" she asked through shallow breaths as she continued to defend the wood dummy that was supposed to symbolize a master she would take on when she was older and done being an apprentice. _

"_You are doing very good, but now we will add another opponent." The teacher said as a young man stood in front of Yuki. "However his objective will not be theft, it will be death."_

"_H-hai sensei." Yuki stuttered out._

_The boy dove quickly for Yuki who's back remained glued to her 'employer'. As Yuki saw the sword coming at her she yelped and ducked away. Allowing the young man to strike the wood in what would be a fatal place on the human body._

"_Yuki!" her sensei's sharp voice cut through the air._

"_H-hai, sensei?" she asked nervous._

"_What did you just do?" he asked. "You just let your employer die."_

"_But I was afraid…" Yuki said softly._

"_Body guards don't feel fear, you are a disgrace and this will not go unpunished." Her sensei hissed. "You will be allowed no meals for a week and receive twenty lashes."_

_She was then left alone in the garden before the whip was brought, her sensei stood over her. Her small frail body was only clad in black shorts and a small strapless under shirt. With every merciless crack of the whip, the lesson was beaten into Yuki. When the whipping was finished her sensei folded the whip ignoring the blood that now stained his hands. The dark haired girl lay on her stomach, face pressed to the ground willing the tears back._

"_Remember this Yuki." Her sensei began, and she had no choice but to turn her head and face his emotionless gaze. "Your life is not equal to your employers, you are what we would call expendable. If you die there will be no drastic change, the world will continue turning and life will go on. However if your employer dies drastic changes will be brought to the world. Your life is meaningless compared to others. Learn that lesson well my child and you will be the most successful body guard I will have ever trained."_

_A week later Kasumi came to the school where her future bodyguard was being trained. She was told Yuki would be in her dorm room and the small red headed girl bounded up the stairs to see the dark haired girl. Slowly and quietly she opened the door._

"_Yuki? Yuuuuki?" Kasumi called quietly into the room._

"_O-ohime-sama." Yuki voice came out cracked and Kasumi heard the springs of the bed creak as the dark haired girl struggled to her feet. _

_The room was dark the shutters closed tightly, shutting off any natural light and the rooms light had also been extinguished._

"_Yuki why is it so dark in here?" Kasumi asked shutting the door and entering the room completely. _

"_You may turn on the light." Yuki said._

_Kasumi flicked the lights on and gasped at what she saw. Yuki stood in the middle of the room, posture perfect and as regal and graceful as ever. However her eyes were circled with dark insomnia lines circled her once bright eyes, which were now dull with exhaustion. Her skin had always been pale but now it was translucent. Blue veins stood out and spider webbed down Yuki's lanky arms and legs. Her chest that was once raised in pride was now slouched and her shirt creased with her ribs. Both her legs shook under her weight and dried blood remained crusted on her calves. But her face still shone with it's regular defiance._

"_Onegai, give me a moment to change Ohime-sama." Yuki said turning from the stunned red head and bent forward towards a chest on the floor. _

_Long scars stood upraised from her back and along her visible spine. The dark haired girl stood after picking some clothes, her bones popping loud and painful. She was about to turn when the red head tackled her in a hug. Kasumi was surprised that Yuki was able to hold both of their weight despite her frail condition. But that was Yuki for you, stronger then she looked. The tears made Yuki's shirt wet, and Yuki looked away from the other girl._

"_Ohime-sama, you should not cry," Yuki said quietly. "Especially over a simple bodyguard like myself, I am not worth your tears."_

"_Yuki look at you!" the red head continued desperately. "You look downright starved and like you haven't slept for days, and there is blood all over your legs. Yuki I'm scared for you. What happened?"_

"_I failed a training session and was punished." Yuki answered._

"_You failed a training session and was punished this severely?" Kasumi asked in disbelief. "What kind of training deserves such a harsh punishment?"_

"_I chose my life over that of the employers." Yuki said. "My worthless life was more important to me then the life of my employer."_

_There was silence and slowly Kasumi coaxed Yuki to the bed making her lay down on her stomach. Then Yuki felt the pressure of Kasumi's hand on her back disappear and the door close. The pale girl closed her eyes tight, telling herself that even though they had known each other for years, Kasumi was her mistress not her friend. A few minutes later however the door opened again and Yuki listened as it sounded like a bucket was bumping against something. Kasumi grunted in exertion and Yuki immediately tried to stand up and help her master._

"_Yuki lay down!" Kasumi said, her voice strained but stern._

"_Demo, ohime-sama…" Yuki began._

"_Stay where you are! That's an order!" She snapped._

_Yuki froze for a minute before gently lowering herself back to the bed. A chair scraped across the wood floor, and it creaked quietly under Kasumi's small weight. Yuki bit her lip as Kasumi took the soothing warm cloth and slowly began to clean her back and soon moving onto her legs._

"_Yuki," Kasumi said her voice soft._

_The black haired girl sighed, letting her know that she was listening to her._

"_For whatever it's worth, if you died…I would cry." She said a tear falling from her eye and landing softly on Yuki's back._

"_Ohime-sama," the bodyguard whispered. "But my death would not matter…the world will not end because of my demise."_

"_But my world would," Kasumi countered._

_Yuki was silent as Kasumi continued to soothe her friend. _

"_I'm ashamed," Yuki said quietly as Kasumi helped her sit up._

"_Just shut up and eat," Kasumi said before shoving a spoonful of soup into Yuki's mouth._

_The pale girl ate slowly; her future master and best friend continued to comfort and take care of her. But the silence still remained and Kasumi decided to break it, her voice forcibly cheerful. _

"_I bet if your parents were still here they would cry." Kasumi said. "And your brother, he loves you more then anything."_

"_I don't think so." Yuki said. "They were so devoted to the life of a bodyguard they didn't hear anything and Akihiko is preoccupied being a ninja."_

"_Well, my mom once told me, before she died that all lives are equal. A king and a beggar both have the same right to live." Kasumi explained._

_Yuki was quite for a minute before she looked up at Kasumi and smiled._

"_Arigotou Ojou-sama." Yuki said smiling even bigger when Kasumi's face turned as red as her hair._

"_Ojou-sama, where did that come from?" she asked getting over her flushed state._

"_Because to me you hold more respect then even your father." Yuki said quietly and a _

_little embarrassed._

_Kasumi only smiled._

_End Flashback_

Yuki knew what she had to do; she turned her head to get a look at Sasuke's face.

"Uchiha-san?" she asked just loud enough for him to hear.

"What?" he asked venomously.

"Something isn't right." She said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked exasperated.

"The leader wasn't expecting this to happen." She explained. "But as I see it we have two options. 1. Hang on until the leader catches up or 2. Let go and face whatever's down their head on."

"Are you serious?" he asked, eyes wide.

"I'll leave it up to you Uchiha-san." She said letting him know that she would do whatever he wanted.

"Sasuke." He said.

"What?" Yuki asked.

"Just call me Sasuke," he said scornfully.

"You haven't answered me…Sasuke." Yuki said her voice quiet.

"Well I guess we have no choice." Sasuke said chuckling. "Let go Yuki."

"Hai Sasuke." Yuki said, smiling before letting go.

"YUKI!" Kasumi cried as her friend fell from her reach.

--Page Break--

Both dark haired shinobi plummeted to the ground. Sasuke had closed his eyes praying that this wasn't his end; he was roused from his thoughts when he felt an iron grip around his hand. Surprised he looked over at Yuki's face. Her hair streamed in a straight line above them, the rate they were falling at making her dark locks defy gravity. Tears flew upward because the wind was whipping in her eyes. But her face was fearful and her knuckles turned even whiter then usual as her grip on Sasuke tightened even more. His cold eyes softened and he pulled her closer to him so now both of their hands were connected and their arms were creating a small circle.

"Sasuke?" Yuki asked again.

"Yeah," the Uchiha answered distracted.

"When you die, will anyone cry for you?" Yuki asked.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked giving her his full attention.

"Will anyone be so saddened by your death that they'll cry for you?" Yuki asked again.

Sasuke was quiet for a moment before he answered in an extremely low tone.

"I have no family, I've betrayed all my friends, and my comrades all dislike and distrust me." Sasuke said. "So no, no one will cry for me."

The Uchiha felt the girls hands slide from his grip before the came to the sides of his face forcing him to look at her. It was one of the first times he had seen sorrow in someone so stoic, so powerful, so much like him that he was at a loss for what to do. Slowly she came closer and embraced the last Uchiha.

"I'll cry for you."

--Page Break--

To Yuki and Sasuke the fall had taken at least an hour, however to Sora and Suigetsu who were eagerly awaiting their return to consciousness it only took a moment. Both shinobi sat bolt upright, both breathing heavy from the shock, Sasuke had a shorter recover time as Suigetsu pulled him to his feet.

"Fireball jutsu NOW!" Suigetsu cried.

Sasuke saw the approaching danger and did as he was told. Swiftly he did the familiar hand signs. With one deep breath all of the cranes were smoldering ashes before them.

"YEAH! Go Uchiha power!" Suigetsu cheered.

"Um Suigetsu this is no time to celebrate." Rikku said slowly.

"Why?" he asked, and followed Rikku's arm to where she was pointing, stunned.

The paper dragon still loomed over them smoke pluming out it's nostrils. Suigetsu backed up and Sasuke followed suit. The paper puffed out as the dragon took a big deep breath in. But the origami never got to fry them to a crisp as Yuki jumped in front of them holding a large blade.

"NO DON'T!" Suigetsu cried.

However when this blade touched the paper it froze over. The dragon fell from the air and shattered onto the ground.

"You're my hero!" Suigetsu said gripping tightly to Yuki's arm.

In a very un Yukiish way she turned and gave Suigetsu a small smile before turning her attention back to the blue haired woman that had been standing there only a few minutes before. Now she was in front of the leader performing quick distinguished hand signs.

"What is she doing?" Suigetsu asked.

"It looks like she's getting everyone out of the genjutsu." Rikku observed.

"Well that's good isn't it?" Suigetsu asked.

"No." Yuki answered her stoic persona back. "There is some sort of deeper motivation to this then that. They wouldn't just go through all that to wake us all up again."

Sasuke gasped catching everyone's attention. The Uchiha however didn't answer them as he ran over to his still demobilized teammates and began to shake them violently.

"What the hell are you doing Sasuke!" Suigetsu cried demanding an explanation.

"When we come out of this genjutsu there is a period of confusion and complete disorientation correct?" Sasuke asked as he was finally able to awaken Jugo.

"Yeah and?" Suigetsu prodded.

"Well if we can wake up our teammates before that woman can wake up the leader we may be able to catch them by surprise. They're obviously only after one of us, and they are trying to get them to come willingly which is why none of us have been killed yet." Sasuke explained.

"But who are they trying to get?" Rikku asked dumbly.

There was a slight pause then there was a collective shout.

"HINATA!" They quickly ran over to the motionless Hyuuga and began trying to wake her up.

--Page Break--

Hinata heard her name shouted from a distance, she looked around frantically; she could have sworn that was Sasuke's voice.

"HINATA!" she heard it again, this time Karin, Sora and Kasumi had also heard it.

"Was that Sasuke?" Karin asked confused.

"HINATA!" this time it was a more feminine voice but still oddly deep.

"YUKI!" Kasumi cried into the air recognizing the voice at once.

Realization just dawned on Hinata, when you fell to the ground in this genjutsu you weren't killed you were pulled out of it. As soon as she came to the realization she felt her body shake as if someone was wrenching her back and forth.

"Guys!" She cried unsteadily as her body shook on it's own.

The three girls turned to the still shaking Hyuuga curiously.

"Guy's you need to jump!" Hinata cried.

"What are you crazy?" Sora cried.

"It's the only way to get out of this genjutsu." Hinata said.

"I c-can't do it…" Sora said.

Hinata grew impatient and quickly shoved Sora off the cloud. The leader of the Akatsuki landed silently on the same cloud as them.

"Karin, Kasumi GO!" Hinata shouted before trying to shove the two girls off the cloud.

Both girls took the leap of faith and plummeted to the ground. Hinata whipped around to face the leader her eyes hard.

"I'm sorry your friends were to late." He said.

The sky around her dissolved and her vision spun violently making her wretch, but she realized she couldn't move because she was encased in two large arms. She couldn't look up in her current position but she knew who was holding her. Thrashing violently she hoped to loosen the mans grip on her but it only became tighter. He gave her ribs a hard squeeze and she gasped in pain. Her eyes were drawn to all her friends who stood before her ready to attack if the situation arose.

"We've captured her leader-sama." Konan stated proudly.

Hinata heard an affirmative grunt and the grip around her loosened. Hinata gasped as the leader gently pushed her forward.

"Leader-sama!" Konan cried in shock.

"Hush Konan." The leaders no nonsense voice making everyone shutter. "Hinata-san came to see Gaara-sama and she shall see him…"

"Leader…" Konan said anxious.

"What's your plan?" Hinata asked suspicious.

"There is no plan, but if you would like to see Gaara-sama I suggest you go now." He said backing away to reassure her.

"And you wont follow or attack us?" Hinata asked.

"No, to much has happened to you Hyuuga-san, I couldn't bring myself to do any more." The leader said solemnly. "Konan come."

"But leader I thought…" Konan began but was cut off by the leaders stern voice.

"Just come Konan all questions will be answered later.

The blue haired woman nodded before walking briskly to the man's side before they both disappeared.

"Are we alone now?" Suigetsu asked, his voice impossibly loud in the silent echo chamber.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched the chamber; no one else was in there.

"I don't see anyone." Hinata said before she extended her vision.

Her eyes found a room much larger then this one and a body laid on the floor. Her heart rate increased she knew, it was Gaara. Her body began moving before her brain did and she found herself running towards the exit. But her body was wrenched back as her friends grabbed her arms.

"Rushing in without a plan isn't the smartest thing to do Hinata-san." Yuki said.

"Yeah Hinata." Kasumi consoled. "Just take a deep breath and think."

Hinata did as she was told, she took a deep breath and slowly took in the obstacles in the way of her finding Gaara. That's when she realized there was no direct way, there were four tunnels each of them branched off and could essentially lead to Gaara.

"There are four tunnels and ten of us, so I suggest we partner up." Hinata said.

Kasumi immediately latched onto Yuki, and as the two twins were about to glue together they were both pulled in different directions. Sasuke gripped Rikku's arm hard making the fragile girl wince while Jugo held onto Sora's arm lightly.

"I need Rikku because she's a genjutsu specialist," Sasuke said, the unspoken fact being that he was going to go after his brother.

"I need Sora because she seems more physically powerful then her sister." Jugo explained.

Looking around at the remaining three people Karin immediately grabbed Suigetsu's hand.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"I don't know the Hyuuga or Akihiko, I'm playing it safe and picking the idiot I know well." Karin excused, before turning to Suigetsu with a small smile. "Besides we don't know what Kisame will do to you."

Suigetsu couldn't help but smile gratefully at his teammate and squeeze her hand reassuringly. Hinata glanced over at Akihiko and nodded towards him in a silent recognition of partnership.

"Alright, Suigetsu and Karin." Hinata began, adding more chakra to her eyes so she could see further. "It seems Kisame is that way." She said pointing to the opposite end of the chamber. "He's out side fighting…" she gasped. "Team Gai!"

"Got it," Suigetsu grinned maliciously before pulling Karin. "It's time to make some sushi!" He cried excitedly as he rocketed towards where Hinata had pointed.

"Sasuke I suggest you go to the path on the far right, as we walked in I saw a room with Itachi-sans name on it." Hinata began. "Just walk ten meters straight. And twelve to the right and you should get there."

"Arigotou Hinata." Sasuke said, and his voice, for once, was filled with gratitude.

Hinata only nodded her understanding before Sasuke and Rikku dashed down the tunnel they were told. The Hyuuga's eyes scanned the next three tunnels carefully her eyes resting on one that contained a large man. Seven beating hearts told her exactly who it was. She looked at her teammates wondering whom she should send to such a dangerous man. Kasumi and Yuki wouldn't stand a chance. They were both very strong and talented but the chances of them being able to attack each of Kakazu's hearts effectively was slim. She looked to Jugo and Sora. Sora was good at distraction and Jugo was a berserker, they would stand more of a chance against the voodoo doll of the Akatsuki. Hinata took a deep breath before speaking.

"Jugo, Sora…" she began slow. "I want you to take the one right there." She pointed to the one right next to the one Sasuke and Rikku had disappeared down. "But down that path there is a man, his name is Kakazu, he has seven hearts and he is…sewed…together. You need to be careful, he's as close to immortal as it gets, only second to Hidan."

They both nodded their faces not betraying any emotion. Hinata looked at them nervously as both of them turned to leave.

"Wait!" Hinata cried, making both of them turn. "Just be careful ok?"

Both smiled and nodded before walking calmly down their path. Yuki and Kasumi looked at Hinata, waiting for her to pick their path. The Hyuuga searched down the last two paths her white eyes widened in shock in horror as she saw the very large Akatsuki member known as Hidan. She knew she was the only one able to stand a possible chance against the immortal muscle man. On the other hand along the other path stood the equally huge cannibalistic form of Zetsu and the small in comparison Tobi. She bit her lip, either send the girls to two Akatsuki or to the immortal one. Taking a deep breath she spoke.

"Kasumi, Yuki up ahead in that path is the plant man and the man with the orange mask that led us here, you take care of them." Hinata said, hoping this wouldn't prove to be a bad mistake.

"Wait!" Akihiko cried. "I don't want my little sister to go against TWO Akatsuki members."

"Akihiko…" Yuki began but was cut off by Hinata.

"We Narumi-san are going to be going against an immortal, I think that a plant man and a trainee will be easier to defeat then an immortal." Hinata explained, silencing the protective older brother.

The two teams nodded towards each other before dashing ahead into their separate tunnels.

--Page Break--

"Suigetsu slow down!" Karin cried as she was continually dragged through the dark lair.

Instead of slowing down they came to a complete stop in front of a large boulder. Karin ripped her hand away from Suigetsu's grip. She gently touched the boulder.

"Way to go Suigetsu," Karin scoffed. "Go after the guy that's behind the giant freaking boulder!"

She turned just in time to see her teammate turning clear and dropping to a puddle on the floor. Quickly Karin grasped his hair and yanked him up.

"Ow what was that for?" Suigetsu asked, neither teen paying attention to the fact that Suigetsu was naked. **(A/N: Yeah I was flipping through my friend's manga and found out Suigetsu can teleport but he has to be naked…this will be the LAST time I mention ANYONE naked.)**

"You were going to leave me here weren't you?" Karin asked, daring him to confirm her suspicions.

"So?" Suigetsu began emotionless.

"SO!" Karin cried. "There is no way your going out there without me!" Karin exclaimed.

"But I can handle it." Suigetsu said.

"And I'm your teammate and I say that you can't go in there alone." Karin said.

"Why do you care?" Suigetsu snapped. "All you see is your precious Sasuke." Suigetsu scoffed.

He turned away from Karin, ashamed and angry but the dark haired girl wasn't put off. Instead she turned him to face her again, both hands resting on his shoulders.

"What if something happened to you in there?" She asked genuinely concerned. "I wouldn't be able to help you."

Her arms fell to her sides as Suigetsu began to lean in, her eyes drifted shut behind her glasses. Her lips puckered on instinct. Minutes seemed to pass by and nothing happened. Slightly irritated Karin open one eye and growled in frustration as she watched the rest of the Suigetsu puddle disappear under the rock.

"YOU BASTARD!" Karin cried banging on the stone.

Suigetsu leaned up against it, his face slightly red, in yet he listened to all the curses that the black haired girl gave him. Finally she was done and he decided to say something.

"Karin, I would die if you got hurt, stay there where it's safe." He said in all seriousness.

"What about you?" her voice came again, filled with concern.

"Don't worry," he said, a smile evident even in the tone of his voice. "If I get hurt I'll just slide right back under hear and get patched up."

Karin was about to say something when the rock shook with a strong force on Suigetsu's side.

--Page Break--

Suigetsu had closed his eyes and when the next attack came he was now fully aware and alert to everything. He thanked God that he had made Karin wait behind the rock, if she wasn't then the rock that Kisame just attacked, Karin would be dead.

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Suigetsu said with malice.

"Your Suigetsu right?" Kisame asked, holding his sword over his shoulder.

"Does my reputation exceed me?" Suigetsu asked, his pride getting the best of him.

"If you travel with Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata then yeah you're probably the sound genin in my bingo book Suigetsu Ho…something."

"Genin!?" Suigetsu asked in disbelief. "AND MY NAME IS SUIGETSU HOZUKI! I've beaten three jounin since I was in the academy single handedly, who says I can't take you?"

"Because your sword skills will not matter against Sameheda, and…you're naked." Kisame said, holding back a laugh. **(A/N: Ok I couldn't help it…but LAST time I SWEAR!)**

Suigetsu flushed, not in embarrassment but in anger. After that he did a few hand seals and he was fully clothed.

"Hoshigaki Kisame, be prepared to meet your end by me. Hozuki Suigetsu!" he cried grabbing onto his hilt with both hands.

"Whatever." Kisame scoffed, making Suigetsu charge out of anger.

--Page Break--

"Hurry up!" Sasuke scoffed, without glancing behind him.

There was no answer and he immediately turned, Rikku was gone.

"Rikku-san!" he called, his voice gruff with frustration.

"Little brother." A deep voice called softly, making chills race along Sasuke's spine.

He whipped around trying to see the brother he knew was there lurking in the shadows. A door creaked and he turned to see the door with his brother's name on it open slightly. The younger Uchiha burst through the door only to see Itachi sitting on his bed Rikku grasped firmly in his arms. On hand on her throat the other around her waist. Rikku was so short that she was only a few inches taller than Itachi while he was sitting. Sasuke knew she should be scared. Hell if he was in her position he knows he would be scared, but Rikku looked surprisingly calm. Her green eyes glazed over and her mouth shut.

"Hello Sasuke." Itachi said his voice smooth. "I caught your little friend snooping and I was wondering why, we were about to have a little chat when you interrupted."

"Itachi let her go!" Sasuke snapped. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Really?" Itachi asked, his voice surprisingly teasing. "If that's the case then why don't I just kill her, which would rid both of us of a meaningless distraction hmm?"

Sasuke stepped forward as his brothers hand moved slightly on the girl's neck.

"Ahh so it seems she is of some worth to you Sasuke." Itachi said.

"You scum." Sasuke hissed. "You can't win a battle without your dirty tricks can you?"

"Now little brother that hurts my feelings." Itachi said, showing no outward signs of displeasure except for the slight downward curve of his eyebrows.

The older Uchiha stood, making Sasuke take an extra step back; however he only gently laid Rikku on his bed before unbuttoning his cloak and dropping it on top of her like he was discarding unnecessary items.

"If you wish for no dirty tricks," he began also removing his weapon pouch and stacking that on his bed along with everything else. "Then I challenge you to a duel."

When Sasuke didn't object Itachi smiled slightly before continuing on.

"No weapons, or jutsu's just taijutsu, this means no Sharingan of course." Itachi said.

"Of course!" Sasuke spat.

"Sasuke don't do it." Rikku said, speaking for the first time.

The Uchiha let his gaze fall on the girl just realizing what must have happened, she had tried to attack Itachi and all he did was reverse it. Her own attack must of hit her and shocked her for a few moments. Sasuke's hard eyes turned from her and landed on his older brother.

"I accept." He said eyes narrowed.

Itachi just smiled.

--Page break--

Sora and Jugo walked in silence. The small girl observed the man in front of her skeptically. She opened her mouth to speak but she immediately closed it.

"What concerns you?" Jugo asked.

"What?" Sora asked confused, having jumped out of her skin when he addressed her.

"Is there anything that concerns you? I have noticed you staring at me and I was just wondering if there is anything I can help you with" Jugo stated glancing at the girl beside him.

"Oh no!" She insisted immediately. "I hadn't even realized that I was staring." She lied.

They walked in another long silence, Sora unable to keep her gaze from Jugo for long. Finally he sighed surprising her again.

"You were staring again." Jugo told her. "Sora I know there are things you wish to ask me, feel free."

Sora who was going to make up an excuse paused and nodded before observing him. A moment later her first question spilled out.

"Why are so…well HUGE!" Sora began.

"I'm a berserker; we're just like that I guess." Jugo answered.

Sora nodded satisfied by that answer she thought briefly before asking another question.

"Why did you pick me for your partner?" Sora asked.

"Well you see if I go berserker I will need some help restraining myself and you seem more physically strong then your sister." He answered simply.

"Any other reason?" She asked, slightly disappointed.

"Yes." Jugo answered.

"Really?!" she asked excitedly. "What?"

"You are more talkative then your sister, I can't stand quiet people, it unnerves me." Jugo answered.

Sora was about to nod when she felt pain shoot up her leg and she was frozen to her spot. Jugo turned when he heard her whimper of pain. He knelt next to her as she rolled up her pant leg. From her ankle to her mid calve there was a long line of crisscrossed stitches, her leg stained crimson as blood leaked from the tiny open spaces. He stood and grabbed her hands.

"On the count of three you're going to pull your leg, either you break the stitches holding you to the ground or all the stitches come out." Jugo told her. "Ready?"

She nodded. Biting her lip and closing her eyes waiting for a countdown, instead he just pulled and she screamed. As he had expected the stitches came all the way out before sinking back into the ground. Sora toppled over onto him, tears running down her face.

"That was a tendon you ass!" she cried, but didn't say anymore as more thread came from no more and sewed them together.

It made them look like they were giving each other an eternal hug. Blood dripped heavily from their arms and legs as their eyes were drawn to a man standing a few feet away.

"And here I was hoping for more of a challenge." Kakuzu replied.

--Page break--

Kasumi and Yuki walked side by side as they always have. Both girls were silent, quite comfortable with the other after all the years of being with each other. Kasumi opened her mouth to ask Yuki a question but was silenced when the dark haired girl held a finger to her lips. They heard feet shuffling in their direction. Quickly the two girls hid in the shadows of the large hallway waiting for the two people to pass.

"Zetsu-san?" Tobi asked his companion as the continued to walk the halls.

"Yes Tobi?" he asked in a bored even tone.

"What's going to happen to Gaara-chan?" Tobi asked his voice taking on a cute inflection.

"He is going to die." Zetsu answered immediately without thought.

"What about Hinata-chan then?" Tobi asked his voice full of child like concern.

"My guess is she'll probably go off the deep end," a more sadistic voice answered.

"Then what will happen?" he asked, wonderment filling his voice.

"Then Pein-sama will lead her like a lamb to the slaughter." The darker voice said before laughing manically and both men moved out of earshot of the two girls still in hiding.

"Did you hear that?" Kasumi whispered to her friend who only nodded. "What do we do then?" she asked.

"We find Hinata-san and warn her." Yuki said.

Kasumi promptly nodded and both girls sped down the path they had just been traveling down before. Yuki's eyes spotted something strange on the roof of the passage. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Kasumi-sama paper bomb!" she cried knocking her away from there so they could land somewhere safe.

However as she was about to put Kasumi back on her feet thick green vines wrapped tightly around Yuki's legs. So instead the dark haired bodyguard threw her master as far from the spot as possible. Zetsu emerged behind Yuki, his face invisible behind the huge flytrap covering his head. Kasumi stumbled backwards in surprise but felt two arms catch her before she fell. Her breathing quickened and her eyes darted to her right; all she saw was a giant orange swirl.

"I'm sorry." Tobi said, his arms still holding onto the red head. "Zetsu-san says you can't warn Hinata-chan, Kasumi-kun."

The red head pulled away immediately bringing out a kunai and preparing to attack Tobi. Instead she leapt away as Zetsu who merely disappeared and reappeared next to Tobi. Kasumi leaned over preparing to slice the vines around Yuki's body.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Zetsu said as a vein wrapped around Yuki's neck tightly.

The black haired girl gave a strangled gasp of surprise. Kasumi narrowed her eyes dangerously at them.

"Cut them Ojou-sama!" Yuki gasped as the vines on her body began to tighten except the one around her neck.

"No Yuki!" Kasumi said tears in her eyes. "I would NEVER cut them!"

"Please Ojou-sama." The black haired girl begged.

"NEVER!" The red head answered again.

"How cruel." Zetsu's cold, more rational voice spoke. "She's in pain and you won't even relieve her of that?"

Kasumi glared daggers at him before gasping as he raised his hand.

"I guess if you can't do it I will then, it's not right to make someone suffer." Zetsu said before closing his fist, a loud snap sounded.

Kasumi dropped to her knees tears streaming from her eyes as Yuki's lifeless body landed with a thud behind her.

--Page break--

Akihiko and Hinata walked slowly, both trying to come up with a plan on how to defeat the immortal man they were doomed to face. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that they had entered a chamber, far larger then the hall they were in only moments before.

"Something's not right." Hinata whispered.

"Look out!" Akihiko cried tackling Hinata to the ground.

A large scythe flew over their heads and landed with a loud thud into the ground. Hinata gasped as she saw the man enter her sight, she grabbed onto Akihiko tightly and began to roll away. Hidan landed on the ground where their heads were only moments before. He ripped the scythe from the dirt and stood waiting for the two younger ninja to stand.

"Get up now you little maggots!" Hidan shouted, making Hinata cringe at his volume.

"So this is the immortal you were talking about?" he asked, receiving a nod from Hinata.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not even here you bastards!" Hidan screamed.

Both ninja stood shakily to their feet. Hidan grinned and whipped his scythe out before hurling it at them again. Hinata knew they wouldn't be able to duck it this time. So using as much chakra as she dared she made a wall of earth that the scythe got stuck in. Akihiko quickly ducked around the wall after the scythe got stuck. Using both his momentum and Hidan's he launched a powerful kick to the older mans chest sending him flying back. Hinata used more chakra to make the wall shrink back into the ground , dragging the scythe with it.

"Little bitch." Hidan muttered as he recovered from the attack moments before.

"We are now on an even playing field." Akihiko stated, defending his Hyuuga teammate.

"Pfft not unless YOUR immortal…dumb shit." Hidan added the curse at the end after a little consideration.

Akihiko preformed a few hand seals and held two blades made of water. He jumped at the immortal man who let himself get attacked. Akihiko however was surprised to finds that his blades could not penetrate the skin.

"Let me show you something kiddies." Hidan mocked as pulled of his cloak revealing black and white markings painted in his body.

"With this little spell from Jashin-sama I am invincible to all blades." **(A/N: Okay I'm actually not sure what those marking do so for the sake of this battle they make him impervious to all blades but his own. Okay!)** Hidan grinned maliciously at them.

While he wasn't looking Hinata also formed some hand signs for a fireball just, but instead of blowing it towards him she held onto the small ball of heat. Akihiko leapt in and attempted to land a hit on him once more. Hinata ran at him and ducked only grazing his pant leg, making his whole body burst into flames as she turned to his back. Using a little chakra she pushed the fire away from a single spot and using her gentle fist she began to close off all his tenketsu. She barely closed five before he sis a leg sweep and hit her in the chest. The clone poofed away the man was now covered in flame and standing staring at the two ninja before him. He suddenly let out a long laugh. He brought his hand to his face and slowly wiped across it, the flame jumped from his cheeks and the blaze burned brighter around his body.

"Thanks bitch," he said turning a twisted smile to Hinata. "You just gave me an extra weapon."

Hinata gasped and realized her grave mistake. Akihiko looked confused for a moment but Hidan soon answered his question.

"My body paint's main ingredient is alcohol, there is quite a bit in there so I don't feel a thing." He grinned.

However Hinata caught sight of something Hidan was obviously not aware of. The longer he left the fire burning the more amount of paint began to disappear and that meant she could hit him with a blade. She tried to stall and make him burn longer. Running at him she ducked under his arm at the last second, her long hair getting singed at the tips. What she hadn't expected was his hand waiting to grab her when she made it around his body. Ducking and crawling frantically the only thing that caught fire was her jacket. Quickly she dispelled the fire, ignoring the rather large burn mark on the back of her jacket.

Once again she tried to distract him so the fire would burn longer and make more of that damned paint burn off. Again she tried to get behind him in a distraction, Hidan who seemed to predict her move leaned back trying all his weight was now balancing on the Hyuuga. Hinata reached into her weapon pouch and produced a kunai. She stuck it viciously into his back hoping to startle him into taking back his own tremendous weight. It worked and Hidan quickly stood so the kunai was no longer being embedded into his back.

His sadistic face twisted into a scowl as he realized that the paint was slowly burning off his body, and that there was an open spot on his back. Hinata knew he had caught on to the plan but she also new it would take him a while for extinguish the fire if she kept distracting him with attacks. Again she prepared for another attack. Hidan saw it coming this time, he grabbed Hinata's arm and refused to let go no matter how much she struggled. Her skin blistered and the scream of anguish was torn from her throat. Akihiko quickly took action and prepared to extinguish the fire on the Akatsuki member. The Hyuuga predicted Akihiko's attack and tried to stop him but was to late as a wave of water washed over both ninja. After the gigantic wave Hidan was shocked for a moment and Hinata used this chance to kick him roughly in the side and yank her arm free.

She moved around him, trying to spot a place where the paint had completely crumbled away. To her dismay and horror none of the paint had come off his chest. Hidan took this chance to grab her again. Without a moments hesitation he ran with her towards a wall and slammed her body viciously against the stone. Hinata tried to cry out but the mans large hand cut off her windpipe. Instead blood flowed from the back of her head and her slightly parted lips.

"Never. Try. And. Out. Smart. Me. You. Twit." He growled, slamming her harder against the wall after each word.

He felt Akihiko coming towards him, preparing to attack; the immortal turned around and slammed his fist into Akihiko's gut. The dark haired boy flew backwards and skidded across the ground. However Hidan wasn't done with him yet. He let Hinata go and she fell to the ground with a loud thump as he approached the other boy ninja struggling to get up. Hidan dashed over toward the writhing young man and put one heavy foot on his chest. Akihiko took a kunai from his pouch and dug the blade deep into the immortal mans calve. Removing his foot he drop kicked Akihiko in the throat, closing off his windpipe. Hinata who had been partially paralyzed up until this point began to slowly, move toward one of the water blades Akihiko had dropped in order to begin his jutsu to extinguish the fire on Hidan. The Akatsuki caught her and picked her up once again off the ground however this gave Akihiko a chance to recover. Hidan growled and let Hinata fall again to the ground so he could deal with the on coming distraction. His back was turned to her and Hinata didn't wait, she picked up the sword and aimed it carefully at the large uncovered spot on his back. With a fierce battle cry she thrust the blade through the mans back. His heavy frame froze in shock and blood spurted from the wound splattering on Hinata's cheeks and began to slide down the blade. Hinata made panicked whimpers and used all her strength to throw the sword and the corpse away from her.

"Hinata." Akihiko said weakly as he slowly limped to where Hinata sat her limbs shaking.

The young man wrapped his arms around her frame ignoring the blood that had been staining her face.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently.

The Hyuuga only nodded her head but neither of them noticed Hidan slowly get pack up. He pulled the blade from his back and began a jutsu to retrieve his scythe from the ground.

"We have to get out of here." Hinata said "We have to get to Gaara-kun."

Akihiko nodded and slowly stood. One arm wrapped around her waist and her arm was slung across his shoulders. They slowly began to limp towards the other end of the chamber when a gruff voice made them freeze.

"Hey you asses!" Hidan said preparing to hurl his scythe at them.

The two teens turned slowly just as the scythe came flying towards Hinata.

"Look out!" Akihiko cried tackling her to the ground. More blood coated the Hyuuga's pale faces she fell to the ground. Hidan stood for a moment watching and waiting for either of them to stir. But neither moved and the Akatsuki 'hmphed' in triumph before walking towards them taking back his scythe. He looked down upon the two corpses. The boys head and been sliced in an odd angle and his brain spilled out all over the ground.

The Hyuuga seemed undamaged but her eyes were widened in shock and her breathing had stopped. Two thin lines of blood dripped down the slightly sliced corners of her mouth. He heaved the giant blade over his shoulder before giving the two bodies one last look of disdain.

"I wasn't supposed to kill you." He muttered before his eyes narrowed in hatred. "But you weren't even worth the effort bitch."

He spat on the two bodies before leaving them both behind. As soon as he left and Hinata was sure of it she inhaled deeply and sharply before pushing Akihiko off of her with a little difficulty.

--Page Break--

Suigetsu dove at Kisame but the shark man knocked him back harshly and his body smacked hard into the rock wall instead of getting up he laid there motionless. He shut his eyes in anger at his seeming inability. Suddenly a shadow passed over his face and he cracked his eyes open but not enough to where the dark shadow who was looming over him could see his open eyes.

"Gai-sensei the flames of youth have failed him!" a boy with bushy eyebrows cried leaning over him.

"I know Lee but wait, his heart is still beating." The one named Gai said also looming over him.

Suigetsu let a small gust of air pass his lips as he closed his eyes and tried to regain himself.

"Lee I'm afraid this broken youth needs the kiss of life." Gai said.

"Yes Gai-sansei." Lee responded.

Lee was amazed and a bit envious of how quickly the young man on the ground sprang to life. He stood ready to fight them off if need be.

"Your one of the sound ninja's aren't you?" a feminine voice said behind him.

His body was then thrown against the stonewall.

"What…the hell?" he ground out against the pain.

When he looked into the eyes of his attacker, he gasped. It was a Hyuuga, a boy Hyuuga with extremely long hair.

"You were with Hinata-sama. Where is she now?" Neji hissed.

Suigetsu just let out a loud guttural laugh before Neji slammed against the wall again making the other ninja growl at him.

"That hurt pansy!" Suigetsu ground out, earning an offended look from Neji.

"I'll show you pansy!" he cried punching Suigetsu hard in the stomach. "Where is Hinata-sama?"

"Honestly?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yes." Neji said the urgency prominent in his voice.

"I don't know." He answered.

The Hyuuga dropped him and cried out angrily before punching viciously at the stonewall. Suigetsu looked up and saw Kisame slowly walking away, as if he was comfortable even with the enemy shinobi right behind him.

"That's it," Suigetsu muttered standing up. "I'm finishing this thing once and for all."

With a burst of speed he didn't know he had, Suigetsu rushed across the water heading towards Kisame's back. He swung his sword as hard as he could and Kisame barely was able to block the vicious blow with his own sword. They were both knocked back with the sheer force of the collision. Kisame grinned and was about to speak when he felt a deep slice in his back. He turned surprised and saw Suigetsu standing behind him Zabuza's sword stained a deep crimson. The shark man smiled before turning around and attacking Suigetsu, the young man disappeared in a big puff of smoke and the real Suigetsu leapt out of the water attempting to deliver a vertical slice that would turn the shark into sushi. But Kisame wasn't in the Akatsuki for nothing. Not even turning to face the young sound ninja Kisame swung Sameheda into Suigetsu's gut. His shirt and skin shredded but he continued and followed through with his strike. Both swordsmen jumped away from each other and stood their motionless and silent.

"You're doing better kid." Kisame said, after spitting out a clump of blood.

"Damn right." Suigetsu answered, as blood trickled down his abdomen before it dripped into the water.

"Not very modest are you kid?" Kisame chuckled making blood leak from the long shallow wound running up his chest.

"Hell no, why should I be. I know what I can do." Suigetsu said his own self-satisfied grin painting itself on his face.

"And that's good." Kisame agreed. "But you are telling your opponent everything about yourself and it's not good for certain things."

"Like what?" Suigetsu scoffed.

"Like sneak shark attacks." Kisame grinned.

Giant sharks composed of water grabbed Suigetsu by the ankles and dragged him underneath the water he had been standing on only moments before. They thrashed about making even more blood cloud the water. When Kisame looked down however Suigetsu was gone from his sight and he laughed.

"You're right, giving away your secret weapon to early is a bad idea." A voice said behind him.

Kisame whipped around and saw Suigetsu's clear liquid body come to the surface.

"What are you?" he asked.

"Your worst nightmare!" Suigetsu cried shoving his blade deep in Kisame's chest.

The shark man's body disappeared and melted into the water. Suigetsu's eyes widened and he fell on the water screaming in anger and pain. His cuts oozed blood and he realized that he had left Karin alone behind the rock. His heartbeat quickened. What if another Akatsuki found her? He got to his feet and with another amazing burst of speed he went to the boulder before banging on it fiercely. Karin had sat down after her futile attempts and waited for him to come back, when she heard the banging she called out again, her voice shaky.

"Suigetsu?" she called.

"Karin are you okay?" he asked, his voice panic stricken.

She stood and placed her hands on the boulder as if that would help her see him.

"I'm fine, are you ok?" She asked.

There was no answer; instead a puddle began to seep through the cracks of the boulder. She backed up to give Suigetsu space. After a few minutes he rose up out of the puddle, but he couldn't stand. Instead he laid face down in the dirt.

"Suigetsu!" Karin cried as she kneeled next to him.

She rolled him over and smacked his face lightly and he opened his eyes before smiling up at Karin's worried face.

"You're being to loud." He said before hacking out some blood. "Either heal me or shut up."

"Bastard!" Karin cried punching him in the stomach though tears of joy collected at the corners of her eyes.

He groaned and writhed on the floor making Karin feel ashamed.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry I hit you." Karin said her head hanging.

But Suigetsu began laughing, Karin looked up and smiled but her face creased in worry as she saw more blood staining Suigetsu's lips.

"You idiot." She chuckled as she pulled his head into her lap. "I'm going to heal you so keep you mouth shut."

"Karin." Suigetsu said softly making his teammate look at him. "I love you."

That was the last thing he said before he fell into unconsciousness.

--Page Break--

Sasuke stood across from Itachi, both brothers carefully analyzing each other. The tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating. In a moment both Uchiha's clashed. A kick to the side a punch to the gut, but none of the hits actually touched the two brothers. This continued on for a long pointless while. Sasuke's breath came out in controlled gasps while Itachi stood calm as if his younger brothers attacks hadn't even fazed him at all.

"I grow weary of this game Otouto." Itachi replied. "Our warm up is now over."

"WARM UP!" Sasuke cried, his anger getting the best of him.

While he was distracted Itachi lunged at him and tried to trip him with a sweep kick. Sasuke jumped over his brother's leg but wasn't expecting the follow up punch, which collided with his face. He jumped back away from his brother, nursing his bruised face. Itachi didn't give him long before he once again went after Sasuke. A kick to the ribs that Sasuke easily cross blocked. But this gave Itachi an open space for him to grab one of his younger brothers legs and pull it out from under him. Sasuke stopped himself from falling by doing a handstand. He kicked out with his other foot forcing Itachi to release him. Once again on both feet Sasuke faked a kick to the left distracting his brother and then aimed an upper cut for the elder Uchiha's jaw. Both brothers jumped back from each other. Sasuke's fist only barely grazing his brother's chin. They ran at each other again, a few more punches and kicks before Sasuke went in for a sweep kick, hoping he could use Itachi's own attack against him. But he wasn't expecting his knee to come up and the sheer force knocked Sasuke's head back. Without a moments hesitation Itachi lifted his other leg and drop kicked Sasuke in the head. The younger Uchiha only laid face down in the dirt for a few seconds before he jumped to his feet.

"You disappoint me little brother." Itachi said. "I thought that maybe after all these years you would have at least bested me at Taijutsu but I see I was wrong."

"BASTARD!" Sasuke cried his rage getting the best of him, making his sharringan activate.

All was silent for a moment before Itachi looked into Sasuke's fierce blood red eyes, his expression bored as usual.

"It looks like you cheated little brother."

And with that Itachi disappeared before coming to land right behind him. Even though he saw it coming Sasuke wasn't fast enough to stop his brothers fierce barrage of punches and kicks to his back. The younger Uchiha fell to the ground, unable to move from the amount of physical pain and a tight cord Itachi had wrapped around his body in the midst of things.

"You disappoint me brother, I thought you of all people would be good on your word." Itachi said his tone disapproving.

However Sasuke saw his brother stiffen. That's when he saw Rikku behind him, a kunai pressed hard against his neck.

"One move and your dead." Rikku said.

But Itachi ignored the girl and let his coal black eyes land on Sasuke's red ones.

"How pathetic," Itachi said. "An unremarkable girl without any special blood line, or any experience fighting me was able to do what you can't. You aren't worthy of the Uchiha name."

Itachi turned to face Rikku, who immediately averted her eyes from his face and instead looked over his shoulder.

"Kill me. You have earned it." He said, his eyes still black proving he was of no threat. "You were able to sneak up on me, that is no easy feat, so I will allow you to kill me."

Rikku looked over at Sasuke, her eyes scared, she wasn't prepared for Itachi to give up so easily.

"Please Rikku. Don't." Sasuke muttered.

The young woman dropped the kunai and her eyes to the ground before taking a step back from Itachi.

"You have become weak Sasuke, and you even have weak friends. You are so weak you couldn't even see me be killed." Itachi said.

"No I will not watch you be killed." Sasuke said his voice low. "Because I will be the one to KILL YOU! That right is mine alone!" he snapped.

Itachi stared at him for a long moment before a smirk appeared on his face, a smirk so familiar Sasuke almost questioned the maliciousness of the man before him.

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Itachi said. "Only time will tell."

And with that the Uchiha disappeared, and Sasuke found himself being untied and healed by Rikku, wondering if their fight had really happened at all.

--Page Break--

"Damn it this hurts." Jugo grumbled in Sora's ear as they wobbled.

"Yeah now you know how I felt when you ripped my fricken ankle to shreds." Sora said.

"Ow to loud to loud." Jugo hissed.

Sora's face was right next to Jugo's ear, his head settled in the same position as hers.

"What are we going to do now?" Sora asked quietly.

Jugo thought for a minute before he recalled something Orochimaru had once tried to teach him.

_Flashback_

"_Now Jugo." Orochimaru hissed. "Your berserker powers are unimaginably strong but they can become even more powerful if you utilize this special fighting style."_

"_What is it?" Jugo grumbled out. _

"_Partner training." Orochimaru said. "You and your partner will become one and move as one. Utilizing your attacks to make them stronger and more devastating."_

"_What do I have to do to get this power?" Jugo asked. _

"_You must be your partner and learn everything about them." Orochimaru said. "Then you two will become one."_

_End Flashback_

"Partner training." Jugo cried.

"OW" Sora cried equally loud.

Both ninja's bodies flinched on instinct as their ear drums burned from the volume of the shouts that came from both their mouths.

"Partner training Sora." Jugo whispered in her ear. "Orochimaru tried to teach me, but I killed all my partners within a week."

"What!" she hissed, making sure her voice was low. "If it didn't work then why would it work now?"

"Previously all my partners had been males, maybe a female partner is really what I needed." Jugo said, smiling slightly when he felt Sora's face heat up. "Besides we don't really have a choice."

"Excuse me." Kakazu said patiently from where he stood. "I don't mean to rush you guys but I would really like the battle to finish quickly."

A thick wire shot from Kakazu's body and flew directly towards them. With extreme difficulty and by a mere coincidence they fell to the side. Although they avoided the initial attack they were shocked when they saw the thick wire split into lots of tiny ones.

"They're threads!" Jugo cried.

"OW!" Sora shouted.

They tried to dodge the other seams but it wasn't working. After two minutes of the battle there was and x sewed into Sora's cheek and on long seam along Jugo's spine.

"Quick Sora." Jugo whispered. "Tell me about your fighting style."

"Um well…" Sora began uncertainly.

"Hurry!" he said impatiently as he tried to dodge another attack from the Akatsuki member that stood across from them.

"Well I'm very fast and I'm a genjutsu specialist like my sister. And I kinda suck at ninjutsu, but my Taijutsu is decent." Sora said, hoping that her short explanation would help.

"That's it, we'll cast a genjutsu!" Jugo hissed in her ear.

"Yeah only one problem." Sora said.

"What?" Jugo ground out as another attack struck them at full force.

"I can't form any seals!" Sora answered. "I told you once and I'll tell you again. You are freaking huge!"

They both stood silent for a moment. Before Jugo once again came up with an ingenious plan.

"I'll form the hand signs." He whispered.

"What?" Sora asked as she tried to move out of the way of an oncoming blow, happy that she succeeded.

"Tell me the hand signs and I'll perform the genjutsu." Jugo whispered.

"Ok." She breathed on his neck after a momentary pause.

Jugo then turned so his back was to Kakazu who continued to shoot his seams at them almost lazily.

"What are you doing? Now you can't see!" Sora hissed.

"Yeah but he can't see my hands now." Jugo said.

"But you wont be able to defend your self!" Sora said urgently.

"Don't worry." Jugo chuckled. "I trust you."

Sora paused for a moment before nodding. Leaning in a bit closer she began to slowly whisper the hand signs to him. It took a few moments but Sora was able to dodge most of the blows while Jugo slowly formed the signs.

"Alright and the last two signs are…" Sora began but was cut off by Kakazu.

"I'm tired of you two whispering, I want to know exactly what you're talking about." Kakazu said.

With a flick of his wrist the two ninja's were split apart. They both cried in agony as they both fell backwards from each other.

"Quick Jugo, the last ones are tiger and ram." Sora said trying to stem some of the profuse bleeding.

Jugo finished the seals and cast the genjutsu. Kakazu stood dazed for a minute. This gave Jugo enough time to grab Sora and make a mad dash for it. They slowed to a stop and Jugo collapsed, and Sora who was in his arms rolled out of his reach.

"Ow." Sora said softly. "I can't believe we made it."

"Yup it worked out for the best." Jugo said.

"I can't believe you trusted me." Sora said softly.

"Well you proved yourself worthy of my trust." Jugo said. "Looks like I finally found my partner."

--Page Break--

"Ojou-sama watch out!" Yuki cried.

The red head ducked, her eyes wide in disbelief and hope. Yuki appeared once again in front of her mistress as her large Fumaka shurikan flew straight towards the two Akatsuki. Zetsu melted into the ground, but the large black Shuriken continued on its path towards the masked man. To everyone's surprise he caught one of the blades with his hand. The silence stretched and then the weapon fell to the ground and the young man began howling in pain.

"OW! That hurt Zetsu-san!" he whined as he shook his hands.

Using the distraction Yuki grabbed Kasumi and pulled her to her feet.

"You're a-alive." She stuttered.

"Of course I am, I couldn't just leave Ojou-sama alone." Yuki said smiling.

Kasumi looked to where Yuki's corpse should have been, in its place was a large stone. However both girls would pay dearly for their distraction. Vines wrapped securely around their ankles. They were thrown apart and both landed against the walls, this was repeated a few more times before Yuki drew one of her katanas. She noticed that in order for her to be swung so violently without her and Kasumi colliding the vines crossed over each other at one point. Waiting for that exact moment she shoved her sword through the thick vines. Now both girls were going the same direction. Grabbing Kasumi Yuki pulled out her other katana and shoved it in the ground where the vine would hit. As soon as the green plant touched her blade it was sliced, barely missing Yuki's toes. Quickly the both pulled at their vine bindings and were standing within moments.

Zetsu came back up from the ground and lunged catching Kasumi by the leg. As he dangled her over the Venus flytrap, Kasumi exchanged her self for a bomb. She leapt down, both Yuki and her cowering in the corner waiting for the bomb to go off. However Tobi grabbed it and it soon disappeared. Another silence fell over the room as everyone's eyes were once again drawn to the masked man.

"Ooh did you see that Zetsu-san?" Tobi asked, his voice filled with wonderment. "It must have been magic!"

Kasumi ran forward and grabbed Tobi by the throat, slamming him into the wall. She knew she could have pushed him harder but for some reason she was afraid to hurt him.

"What are you playing at?" She hissed, not noticing Yuki's and Zetsu's intense battle.

"Oh are we playing a game Kasumi-kun?" Tobi asked.

"You know damn well we aren't!" Kasumi cried her temper getting the best of her as she slammed him against the wall again only harder this time.

"Ahh temper temper." The young mans voice became deep and that's when Kasumi got a peek into Tobi's mask.

She gasped and backed away, before an explosion went off behind her.

"Ojou-sama lets move!" Yuki cried grabbing Kasumi's hand as a smoke bomb went off.

Yuki ran through a hallway dragging Kasumi behind her. They stopped halfway down the passage before pausing to take a breather. Kasumi still stood there shocked.

"Ojou-sama, what's wrong?" Yuki asked but she didn't answer her. "Ojou-sama!"

"He had…" Kasumi began.

"He had what Ojou-sama?" Yuki asked concerned.

"He had the Sharringan." Kasumi said, making Yuki gasp with her.

--Page Break--

Hinata crawled over to Akihiko's dead body; her hands shook as she slowly turned him over to see his face. Vomit welled in her throat as she saw the parts of Akihiko's head that was cut off. All that was left of his head was his nose and mouth. His eyes had been cut away along with the top of his head.

"Oh no!" Hinata whimpered as if she was a child who had made a mistake. "It's okay." She cooed, gathering the bloody heap that was once Akihiko's head. "If I just put it back in everything…everything will be ok again." She tried to comfort herself.

Tears fell from her eyes and she hung her head as she gave up. Another person gave up his life for her.

"What do I do now?" Hinata asked herself quietly.

'Revenge.' The demon whispered in her ears.

Hinata sat for a minute, horrified at the thought of taking revenge but then the idea began to sink in and the more she thought about it the more tempting it became. Her eyes turned red and a long black slit like pupil appeared as a sadistic smile crossed her lips. Now that the demon had possessed her body, all of Hinata's injuries were healed and within moments she was racing down the hall that Hidan disappeared down. She moved fast and silent, until she found him. He was walking calmly his scythe attached to his back.

She formed a binding jutsu and within moments Hidan fell to the ground bonded from head to toe. Now she approached him slowly, thinking of the best way to exact her revenge. Leaning down she was able to take the scythe from his back.

"What the fu…" Hidan began but stopped as he saw Hinata step right in front of him.

She shoved the scythe in the ground and leaned her weight on it before she spoke her voice slightly teasing.

"Hey there Humpty Dumpty." She said. "You hurt my friend and it looks like you are now going to have to pay."

"How are you still alive?" he asked in disbelief.

Ignoring him she heaved the scythe over her shoulder and brought it down hard. Before she knew it she was laughing and reciting the old Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme as she continued to chop Hidan up into small pieces. Finally she paused taking a deep breath as Hidan looked up at her from his decapitated head.

"You know what they say," Hinata said smiling sadistically once again. "All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put humpty…" She paused as she lifted the scythe and brought down the sharp blade on his head cutting his skull in half. "Together again." She finished.

Dropping the scythe she activated her Byakugan and continued to run to where she could only assume Gaara was. She finally entered a room with a vaulted ceiling and two large hands were protruding from the ground. But her red eyes landed on a motionless form in the middle of the room. Her eyes lost their malice and returned to their solid white color as the demon receded back into Hinata's sub consciousness. It started off as she slowly began to walk towards the body in the middle of the floor but it turned into a full out run. Falling to her knees she crawled the rest of the way to the body and lifted it's head into her lap as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Gaara-sama."

**A/N: I told you this one would be EXTREMELY long. There is a little more fighting in the next chapter but definitely not as much as in this chapter. I'm not too confident about my battle scenes so tell me what you think. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Okay there is very little fighting in this chapter but there is some fighting none the less

**A/N: Okay there is very little fighting in this chapter but there is some fighting none the less. A lot of people are going to hate me for this chapter, because unfortunately the end result will follow the story line of Shippuden for now. So warning an um…big spoiler? Oh well if you don't want anything to get spoiled for you I'll write where the spoiler is.**

**Disclaimer: TT**

**Chapter: 48**

"Gaara-kun." Hinata whispered, caressing his pale face with her shaky hands.

His chest rose and fell slowly so Hinata knew he was still alive. She pressed her cool hands to his unusually warm forehead trying to get him to open his eyes.

'_Something's wrong here.'_ The demon in her head said softly.

"Like what?" Hinata asked her voice quiet but her eyes still on the unconscious Kazekage.

'_Turn on your Byakugan and take a look.'_ The demon said simply.

Hinata did as she was told and gasped at the unusual sight before her. Strange chakra symbols surrounded them, and long thin streams of chakra came from the end of two large symbols and ended in Gaara's abdomen. There more lines of chakra were appearing and going straight to the ceiling feeding a large red symbol. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"What is that?" Hinata asked quietly.

'_It's a sealing symbol.'_ The demon hissed in anger.

"What are they sealing?" she asked quietly.

'_Look out!'_ the demon warned.

Hinata looked down and saw more of the blue chakra streams making their way towards her. She let out a small scream before jumping out of the circle of symbols. Her gaze flickered over to Gaara whose head had hit the ground hard after she jumped away.

"Gomen Gaara-kun!" she cried as she ran foreword and kneeled next to him. "He's not waking up, what's wrong with him?" she said her voice depressed.

'_I'm guessing the reason why he isn't waking up is because of those chakra strings.' _The demon put in helpfully.

Hinata nodded before getting to her feet and lifting Gaara before jumping out of the circle and laying him back on the ground. She unzipped her scorched jacket and put it under his head while she kneeled by him and grasped his hand.

"Gaara-kun wake up." She said her Byakugan searching for any damage done to him. "Onegai, wake up."

Gaara remained motionless and his eyes stayed closed, Hinata remembered reading an old story when she was younger. The book was called Sleeping Beauty. At first she wondered why she remembered such an old story, but couldn't help her face from flushing as soon as she remembered the part of the book where the princess was asleep and would not awaken until given true loves kiss.

"Gomen Gaara-kun." She squeaked out as she leaned closer to his face. "Demo, it was in the story and I don't know what to do."

'_But wasn't it TRUE LOVE's kiss?'_ the demon teased, making her flush even more.

"H-hai," Hinata admitted, before leaning closer.

Their mouths were only a few centimeters from each other, her white eyes focused solely on his pale lips. Preparing to take the plunge Hinata almost screamed as she saw his mouth open and a single word was uttered.

"Hinata?"

She looked up and gasped as a smile twisted its way across her face. However her eyes narrowed in worry as she glanced into his eyes. They were dull and lifeless, a mere echo of what they once were. However she couldn't stay upset as she saw a weak smile on Gaara's face as he laid his eyes on her.

"You came." He said weakly.

"Of course I came silly." Hinata said, sniffling as tears of joy gathered in her eyes. "I…I…I care about you."

"I didn't want you to come." He said turning his head away from her.

"Why?" Hinata asked astonished. "The world couldn't stop me."

"You…you got hurt." His voice held a pang of sadness as he gently touched the two small cuts on the edge of her mouth with the pads of his fingertips.

"Stop," she said gently taking his hand. "That's not important, what's important is that you're okay."

"And that you're okay." Gaara said.

"And that we're together." She said bashfully.

"That's most important." He piped in squeezing her hand.

Hinata blushed but her face contorted in worry again as Gaara groaned and writhed in pain. She leaned over him watching his insides carefully. One of his lungs was punctured and his heart shuddered, she gasped before beginning a healing jutsu.

"Stop Hinata!" he croaked. "It hurts."

"Gomen Gaara-kun demo it will be better soon!" Hinata said softly as she continued to heal him.

Just like he said the wounds became worse and Hinata couldn't help letting a tear slide down her cheek.

"Why?" Hinata said as another tear fell. "Why isn't it working!?"

"Poor poor Hinata-chan." A deep voiced echoed from the shadows.

The Hyuuga turned and glared into the darkness.

"Doesn't know what to do." The voice mocked, now coming from behind her.

She whipped around and there was still nothing there. Then she saw the figure standing behind her thanks to her Byakugan. The leader stood behind her, he raised his hand and brushed the back of her neck making her shudder stand and whip around.

"She doesn't know who to turn to." He continued as if she wasn't there. "But I know how to help her."

"You know how to heal Gaara?" Hinata asked skeptically.

"Hai, I do." He answered simply. "Without my help...he'll die."

Hinata gasped and was about to accept his help when Gaara spoke up, and caught her attention.

"NO!" he shouted, his chest rumbling as blood began to gather there. "It's a trap Hinata! Don't do it!"

"Demo Gaara-kun you'll die!" Hinata whimpered helplessly.

"He can't save me Hinata!" Gaara said. "Don't let him trick you."

"Poor poor Hinata-chan." The leader said again, his voice wistful. "About to loose everything."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"You have no family." He said gauging her reactions. "Your friends are too busy for you and have gone off to do their own thing. Your father has a brain tumor and will leave the Hyuuga clan virtually heirless."

"What!?" Hinata cried. "You're lying!"

"I wish I was." He said before holding out a paper butterfly. "Konan-san has been observing your village for a long time."

Hinata fell to her knees utterly defeated. Her white eyes looked into his mysterious ones as he continued on.

"And now the love of your life is dying." He said softly.

Hinata glanced behind her at Gaara to see him breathing hard a few specks of blood staining his lips. However before she turned back around to look at the leader he had embraced her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked astounded while struggling against his grip.

She looked up into his face; her fear grew as she saw the multiple piercings shining in the dim light his dark red hair brushed her forehead making her lean as far back as the position on her knees would allow.

"I'm giving you a chance Hinata-chan." He said. "I'm offering you a family. I'm giving you a future with the man you love."

Hinata looked at him hopefully as he stood and pulled out her headband. She gasped and grabbed at her neck realizing that he had taken it from her when he had touched her earlier. Then he grabbed a kunai having the tip hover close to the metal part.

"All you have to do." The leader began. "Is cut your ties to Konoha and all that I have promised will come to pass."

"Please Hinata don't…" Gaara said weakly.

The Hyuuga shook her head to clear it before she lunged at the older man catching him off guard. She ripped the headband from his hands and backed up towards Gaara. The leader smirked but Hinata slipped into a defensive stance.

"I won't stop you from leaving." He said. "I will see you soon Hinata-san," he bowed before turning away from her.

"Not as soon as you think!" Hinata bit back.

"Hai, demo, sooner then _**you **_think." He grinned before disappearing into the dark, his deep laugh echoing around the chamber.

She examined the kunai carefully, it seemed normal except for the grip, it was covered in sutras. Slowly she brought the blade to her palm and attempted to cut her skin. However nothing happened as she dragged it across her flesh. Confused she poked the fleshy part of her palm and a long red line appeared on her skin. Poking it once more the line split open, earning a pained gasp from her and blood oozed out, before slowly making it's way down her arm. Patiently she waited for the demon to heal her. But her skin began to burn and the cut only worsened.

"What…? Why?" she winced.

'_The sutra's.'_ her demon hissed.

Hinata lifted the kunai again but her demon yelled at her making her drop the knife in surprise.

'_Don't! I won't be able to heal those wounds fool!' _it cried.

Hinata spared a glance at Gaara's unconscious body and wept some more. Slowly the tears stopped and she was able to regain her composure. He wasn't dead yet. There was still hope. She ripped the bottom hem of her black training shirt and attempted to bandage her bleeding hand.

"What are you doing un?" a curious voice asked.

Hinata didn't look up but she also didn't hesitate to answer the blond young man.

"I'm wrapping my wound so I can take him back to Konoha." She said her voice venomous.

"Why not just take him back now un?" Deidara asked, approaching her.

"My unworthy hands will have to carry him back, but I refuse to stain him with my unworthy blood." Hinata said, her voice breaking off at the end.

"Demo, he's dead un." Deidara said, kneeling next to her. "I don't see the point un." He said nervously.

"Don't say that! He's not dead!" Hinata cried, glaring at him.

"Not yet at least un." Deidara input sarcastically.

Without hesitation Hinata punched Deidara as hard as she could in the face. The blonde looked back at her, the only reason why she was able to land a hit on him was because he wasn't expecting it. He touched the area underneath his nose and found blood, gently he poked the tip of it and winced, it was definitely broken.

"Something you learned from Sasu-chan huh un?" Deidara asked, trying to distract the girl from her current task.

Hinata didn't answer him and instead made sure the cloth was wrapped tightly around her hand and began to hoist Gaara up. Deidara saw her struggling and reached to help her, but she backed away from him.

"Don't touch him!" she cried, more tears making their way down her cheeks.

"Demo, Hina-hime, I'll help you burry him un." Deidara said.

"He's not going to be buried!" she screamed. "He's coming back to Konoha with me!"

"I'm sorry un," Deidara said, forming a small bird. "Neither of you will leave here."

The bird finally reached a decent size and he threw it at her before uttering the detonation word. However a blue sphere that revolved around the two ninja blew the explosion back.

"What the heck was that un?" Deidara asked puzzled as it dissipated to show Hinata standing there winded.

She ignored him and tried to lift Gaara again but Deidara was determined to blast them both into oblivion. He sent another bird this one bigger then the last, but Hinata still deflected it. The bombs continued to come at them and every time Hinata deflected the blast and was able to protect Gaara at least. Deidara stopped for a few moments to gather more clay while Hinata sat on the ground, her chest heaving and her breath coming in gasps.

'I'll never get us out of here.' She thought desperately as hopeless tears continued to fill her eyes.

She felt a strong surge in her chakra and she remembered the demon that lived inside her.

'Demon? Are you there?' Hinata asked in her mind.

'_I am here Hinata.'_ It answered lazily.

'I need your help.' She admitted.

'_Really?'_ it asked and Hinata could practically hear the malice in the demons booming voice. _'Why should I help you?'_

'Because I need it…' Hinata tried, but when the demon didn't answer her she tried a different approach. 'And if I die then you die to.'

'_Hm,'_ the demon thought. _'Then we shall save ourselves.'_

'NO!' Hinata screamed in her mind. 'What about Gaara?'

'_If I help you, you will owe me a favor.'_ The demon said.

'That's dirty!' Hinata said angry.

' _Then I guess you don't need my help.'_ The demon said.

'No wait.' Hinata thought for a moment. 'I'll do it.' She thought desperately as Deidara began forming another bomb.

'_You'll do anything I ask?'_ the demon prompted.

Hinata was silent for a moment as she watched in horror as Deidara's bomb began to grow.

'_Hinata…time is running out.'_ The demon taunted.

'Alright!' Hinata cried mentally.

'_Anything?' _the demon tested.

'ANYTHING! ONEGAI! LEND ME YOUR POWER!' Hinata cried.

Deidara could have sworn that this last bomb would finish her. However she was able to perform the Kaiten, but this time, instead of the chakra being blue it was a deep red. The explosives expert looked on in awe as the explosion was not only deflected but blown back at him. He blocked it and waited for the dust to clear. Hinata stood glaring at him, Gaara was draped over her back his head fell forward onto her shoulder both of her arms tucked securely under his legs.

"What a surprise un." Deidara said shrugging, before throwing a medium sized bird at them again.

Her Byakugan activated and Hinata found a single spot on the bird. If she used her gentle fist on it all of Deidara's chakra would disappear from the bird, which would make it explode. However her demon who had more insight about explosions then her made one point on the bird stand out more then the others. The beak, trusting her demons instincts she used a gentle fist strike on the bird's beak and watched as all Deidara's chakra disappear from the bird and replaced with her chakra. Grabbing it she hurled it back at Deidara.

"Katsu." She tested the jutsu and sure enough the bird exploded.

Hinata used the upraised earth and dirt for cover as she leapt towards the ceiling, focusing chakra to her feet she began running across the ceiling, hands alternating, one always grasping onto Gaara while the other stuck paper bombs all around. When the dust cleared she had no choice but to go back to the ground, so Deidara didn't figure out her plan. She got close enough for her gentle fist to do some damage to him. Landing no more then three hits Hinata was knocked back and once again threatened with more bomb birds and she repeated the process over again. After about five times of the same process she backed into the wall.

"No where to run now, un." Deidara said as he created an overly large bird.

He hurled it at her and she simply ducked underneath it as he exploded the clay, using the Kaiten to shield Gaara and herself. The wall behind her blew open to reveal the devastating sunlight of midday, blinding both Hinata and Deidara. The Hyuuga recovered first and backed up towards the ledge, looking over her shoulder to see a river rushing below them. She turned and faced the hole before backing up a few paces.

"Like I'll let you go un!" Deidara said making another bird.

Hinata glanced over her shoulder and gave him an icy glare as her white eyes flicked red for a moment.

"You have no say in that decision." She said as she ran and jumped out of the hole.

Deidara was about to send his bird after her when he heard a sizzling noise, he hadn't noticed before due to the loud bombs from their fight. He looked up and saw the hundreds of paper bombs covering the ceiling then looked down noticing five were attached to his cloak where the Hyuuga had assaulted him with her gentle fist.

"Ahh shi…" and an explosion caved in the room, silencing the explosive Akatsuki member.

--Page Break--

Hinata had began to fall towards the water feet first but the explosion knocked her off course and she fell head first into the water with Gaara. The rapids were a lot rougher then she expected and she was pulled under within moments. Using her remaining strength she reconnected with Gaara. She was able to reach land in what felt like hours, dragging Gaara onto the shore with her. After lifting him back onto her back she began to limp into the woods surrounding the river. The Kazekage stirred and he lifted his head and recognized a pattern on the ground that they were heading towards.

"Hinata…it's…a trap." He ground out, but it was to late.

As soon as she stepped within the white circle a strange glow covered the ground and large thick spikes shot up through her shoe and into the sole of her foot. She cried out in pain and landed on the ground, dropping Gaara in the process. The spikes slowly began to drain her chakra and her vision began to swim. She lay back on the ground and grabbed Gaara's hand, clasping onto it weakly. He squeezed it gently and Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but Gaara beat her to it.

"Hinata. Watashi ai otaku." He said.

A smile formed on her face and she began to cry again as Gaara's eyes fluttered closed and

**(A/N: SPOILER!)**

His heart stopped beating in his chest.

**(A/N: END OF SPOILER)**

"Watashi ai otaku, Gaara-kun." She said before her own eyes fell shut.

**Translations:**

**Onegai: please**

**Demo: But**

**Watashi Ai Otaku: I love you**

**A/N: Okay well that's the end of this chapter, the next chapter will be really long and will probably be out by Friday. This story is almost over, I would say about three more chapters. I know you all hate me, because Gaara and Hinata haven't kissed. But they will, so be patient! In the last chapter I will probably ask if you would want a sequel so it will be up to you. Also I will put everyone's ages in the next chapter to clear up any confusion. **


	49. Chapter 49

A/N: Okay another long chapter, this is so I can finish this story in three chapters, after which I will get the feed back abou

**A/N: Okay another long chapter, this is so I can finish this story in three chapters, after which I will get the feed back about whether a sequel is wanted or not. Just to notify all of my readers, this chapter is made to make you upset and angry which will prep you for the ending so I can give you the full effect of what actually happens. So do not flame me for my work. I try hard and this story WILL have a happy ending.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto I wouldn't be writing this on a broken school computer.**

**Chapter: 49**

Shino was sitting at his dinner table, slowly and quietly eating when there was a frantic knock on the door. The Aburame family all glanced at each other, the sunglasses discarded for such an intimate meal between the family members.

"It's either for Shibi or Shino." His mother piped in quietly. "They are the only two ninja's on call."

"That may be so." Spoke Shino's grandfather. "Demo, if it's an emergency it could be anyone of us."

The table fell silent again and another knock pierced the peaceful atmosphere. Shibi Aburame sighed in annoyance.

"Shino, go to the door and notify the guest that their excessive banging is disturbing us." He spoke, getting louder as the bugs around the room began to buzz in aggravation.

"Hai Otou-san." Shino said, before standing bowing and slipping on his sunglasses.

He opened the door and cocked an eyebrow at his out of breath teammate who stood winded on his doorstep.

"Kiba, what are you doing here so late?" he asked, genuine curiosity present in his voice. "You have disturbed my families meal time."

"Gomen!" he gasped out. "But…i-it's important."

"Important?" Shino asked again.

Kiba was about to answer when another voice cut him off.

"What was the cause of the disturbance Shino?" His father asked him in a bored tone.

"My teammate otou-san." Shino said turning to his father.

"Now is family time, it is important to build a bond with teammates but even more important to form a bond with family." Shibi said. "This interruption is unexcused, please fix this problem immediately and return to the dinner table."

"Otou-san he said it was important." Shino said, his tone sounding the same in yet different to his father, almost as if he was begging.

"What is so important that you have come to my house at such late an hour Inuzuka-san?" Shibi asked, instead of answering his son.

Kiba looked at the father and son before locking his eyes with Shino's sunglasses. Years of being teammates made it easy for Shino to read Kiba and by the looks of things Kiba was serious about what he was going to say.

"Hinata is on her way back to Konoha now." Kiba said.

"Are you certain?" Shino asked, his voice no longer monotonous.

"Hai, the Chunin guards spotted them ten minutes ago, they should be here in about five." Kiba said.

Shino turned expectantly to his father, who stood silent and motionless for a few minutes before nodding. Quickly Shino pulled on his sandals and ushered Kiba out the door before beginning their sprint down the street.

"Pfft your family is weird dude." Kiba said whistling for emphasis. "Late hour? It's only 6:00!"

"My family is very stern with their traditions Kiba I am lucky that I was able to go with you." Shino said, his bland tone back again.

It didn't take long for them to reach the gate, both boys slightly winded as the stared at the gate with intensity. The first to appear wasn't Hinata or any other of the young shinobi they were expecting. Instead Gai sensei tore through the open gates and instead of stopping when he reached the group of awaiting ninja's he kept on running. He ran straight past Shino and Kiba, heading towards the Hokage tower. The two members of team eight glanced at each other before they heard someone else approaching. They turned their heads and watched as Sakura Haruno slowly limped her way into the gates. Supporting the weight of not only her sensei but also a mysterious old woman. Apparently Gai's speed did not fail them as a group of medic ninja's with stretcher upon stretcher appeared before them. With a little help she was able to lift both bodies onto the stretchers before she looked up.

Everyone followed her gaze and a collective gasp was heard as a large bird, covered the group of people below it in shadow.

"Back up!" Sakura cried motioning for the people to take steps back. "Let them land!"

The bird alighted gently and everyone held their breath as they waited for who would disembark from the large winged creature.

"Land!" a loud voice cried as a girl with brown hair began to climb down the bird.

"Sora don't!" a deeper voice shouted but was too late.

As soon as the girl hit the ground her legs crumpled beneath her, a closer look revealed blood pooling around her as her body rocked in pain. Jugo, who had spoken earlier slowly slid down the bird, an unconscious Suigetsu thrown over his shoulder and an immobile Karen held by his side. Blood dripped down his bare arms and more blood stained his pants. The medics grabbed Karen from him and laid her gently on the stretcher while Jugo merely threw Suigetsu on top of one. He then leaned down to Sora and lifted her.

"You're such an idiot." He chuckled. "You tore your Achilles tendon. You're not going to be able to walk."

"No, YOU tore OUT my Achilles tendon." Sora specified. "There's a difference."

"Yeah, whatever." Jugo said speaking over the quiet medics who asked them to get on a stretcher.

Tenten then slid from the bird seconds before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. She smiled as the medics began to crowd around her.

"No, don't worry about us three," she said her voice light. "Demo." She continued her voice becoming grave. "You'll need all the help you can get when Naruto arrives."

With that the girl with two buns walked away, Temari over heard what the girl said and turned to her fiancé her face creased in a worried expression.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah," he replied, still facing forward.

"What do you think it means?" she asked again biting her lip.

Shikamaru glanced at her, giving her a small smile before grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly.

"Lets hope it has nothing to do with Hinata or Kazekage-sama." Natsu said as she limped next to the couple.

They both nodded before directing their attention back to the gate as the large purple snake slithered it's way into Konoha.

"A-ano I-I could use some h-help!" a voice said desperately from behind the large head of the snake.

A group of medics came quickly and surrounded the snake, the only thing the people around the gate could see was a bag, stained with blood being lifted off the snake. Temari gasped and put a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream. Shikamaru squeezed her hand reassuringly, just as a pale black haired girl appeared, gripping one end of the bag tightly. Tears poured down her cheeks but she was silent. A red headed girl slid off after her and attempted to go after her dark haired friend but was stopped by the medics who looked her over. Finally an identical brown haired girl from earlier slid off the snake, acting as a crutch for Sasuke Uchiha as he limped towards the stretchers.

"Where's Naruto?" Tsunade's loud voice boomed in everyone's ears.

"He should be coming soon." Sakura said, glancing at her teacher. "Demo, Tsunade-sama, there's a slight problem."

But the pink haired girl was cut off from explaining as a loud shriek cut through the air. All eyes then turned to the giant toad that loomed over the gates. Naruto was on top of it's head, he looked as if he was pulling something that was refusing to budge. More shrieks came from the thing a top the toad. Tears filled Temari's eyes as her hands came up to clasp her ears at the terrible screams. Shikamaru covered her hands that were still on her ears with his own, hoping she hadn't recognized the feminine voice yet. After a particular ear-piercing scream Naruto was knocked off the toad. His faithful summon caught him with his long slimy tongue and placed him gently on the ground.

"Do you want me to get her to?" the toad boomed out, making a few people step back.

"That would be nice." Naruto said. "I'll grab her when she gets down here."

The long tongue then went back up to the top of the head before wrapping tightly around something and bringing it down to the ground. As soon as the figure was released it began to try and climb back up the toad.

"**NO!! NO! NO!"** The screams reached an all time high as Naruto dove for the person's legs. **"LET ME GO! LET ME GO YOU DEVIL FOX!"**

Tsunade stood frozen for a second before glancing at Sakura, her honey eyes widened in utter disbelief. Sakura only nodded sadly. Neji and Lee who were still on top of the toad were slowly making their way down the toad carrying another large black bag. The Hyuuga genius stopped for a minute to glance down. Naruto had his arms wrapped tightly around the hysterical struggling figure slightly choking on the long navy blue hair as the person thrashed against him.

"I need some sedatives quick!" Tsunade cried before rushing over to aid Naruto.

"More like freaking tranquilizer!" Naruto said through clenched teeth as he struggled to hold the person still.

"Hinata Hyuuga listen to me!" Tsunade said grabbing her face in her hands.

"Hinata!" Natsu gasped, and was about to limp over to when Shikamaru shot her a sharp look.

Neji and Lee finally made it to the ground with the black bag and Hinata thrashed even more.

"Hinata stop! OW!" Naruto cried as she sunk her teeth into his arm.

She was released and she began to race at the two other ninja carrying the bag. Both boys dropped it in surprise and tried to derail the frantic Kunoichi, however both boys were smacked hard. Hinata used a powerful but not fatal juken strike on Lee and she punched Neji in the gut. Both boys fell away from the bag and Hinata crawled on her hands and knees, before she tried to forcefully open the bag. Just as she opened it, Naruto recovered and tackled her to the ground; he struggled with holding down her arms and legs. Shino and Kiba quickly came to his aid in order to restrain their berserk teammate.

"**AHHHH! AH! AHHHH!"** She continually screamed, trying to throw off the three boys.

"Alright we got the sedatives, get her on her feet." Tsunade called over to them.

"Easier said then done oba-chan." Naruto shouted back. "Alright on the count of three, one…two…three!"

Naruto wrapped his arms around her torso while Kiba kept her arms pinned behind her back. Shino formed shackles around her ankles with his bugs. However Hinata never let them be, she continued to struggle no matter how tight they held her. Neji and Lee soon helped restrain her when it became clear that they wouldn't be able to hold her back by themselves anymore. Tsunade took a large syringe from one of the stand by medics.

"Bring her closer." Tsunade said.

The boys dragged the screaming Hinata towards Tsunade; she motioned for them to turn her around. Temari pulled away from Shikamaru and stepped foreword Hinata's head swung around viciously as she bared her teeth at the men around her.

"Hinata." Temari said softly, fear of her best friend in her eyes.

Hinata fixed her eyes on Temari who gasped; her milky orbs were tainted red and fierce. However when the Hyuuga saw the fear in her friend's eyes her face softened and her eyes returned to their soft milky color. Quickly Tsunade shoved the large needle at the base of Hinata's spine. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body became limp. Naruto picked her up and began to walk her towards the hospital, while Lee and Neji went back to the bag and Shino and Kiba walked slowly after Naruto.

"Why was she acting like that?" Temari asked glancing at Shikamaru.

He shook his head as Temari turned back as Neji and Lee walked by them, Hinata had ripped open the bag and Temari got a glance of the body inside. Her eyes filled with tears as Shikamaru pulled her close again.

"NO!" she screamed.

--Page Break--

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Hinata sat up slowly; she held a hand to her head as a massive headache washed over her. She looked around before sighing deeply.

"I need to stop waking up in the hospital." She muttered. "I should just move in."

She touched the corners of her mouth; it had caused her a lot of pain when she spoke. Her fingers brushed over something wiry and she realized she had stitches. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she prepared to venture out and find a nurse who could explain what happened, she couldn't remember anything, and she could use a painkiller to. Her feet touched the cool ground and she had to grasp the table beside the bed to keep herself from falling. Both of her legs shook as she put more weight on them, but slowly she was able to regain enough strength to walk albeit slowly. She opened her door and glanced down the hall. No one was there so she decided to make her way to the closest nurse's station. As she walked she heard voices. She came to a stop and hid behind a wall so she could hear what they were saying.

"So the person at the gate the other day that was causing a scene was Hinata Hyuuga?" a young nurse asked her superior.

"Yes," the elder nurse said, latching onto the piece of gossip. "Do you know what caused the ruckus?"

"No I have no idea, from what I've hear usually miss Hyuuga is very well behaved and mannered." The younger nurse said.

"Oh she is!" the older nurse said. "I should know she's been in the hospital so many times. The girl ought to move in here."

Hinata's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, the nurse had the same thoughts she did. But before the Hyuuga could wonder anymore on the topic the nurse spoke again.

"Had a crush on Hokage-sama ever since they were kids…"

Wait…WHAT!? How long had she been in this hospital? Hinata got to her feet and was about to speak but stopped when she heard the two women quiet their voices.

"But now she's in love with the Kazekage." The nurse whispered.

"Wow she really goes for the guys with the power." The young nurse replied thoughtfully.

"What would you expect? She is a Hyuuga after all, and the heiress at that." The nurse said matter of factly.

"But I thought she was disowned?" the other nurse asked.

"No, SHE abandoned her clan, anyway we're getting off topic." The 'wiser' nurse said.

"What I've heard is she went all crazy because the Kazekage died."

"No!" the younger nurse gasped scandalized.

"Yes." The elder nurse nodded satisfied with the reaction she got from her audience. "She attacked, Hokage-sama, bit him in the arm. And punched her cousin in the gut! Not to mention what she did to poor Rock Lee!" she said her voice getting louder.

"SHHH!" the younger nurse hushed as she looked around anxiously. "Someone might hear you."

Hinata felt guilt rise in her chest and she pressed a hand to her mouth in shock. Did she really do all that?

"But if the Kazekage's dead why is he in room 303?" the younger nurse asked utterly puzzled.

"Because there was a mysterious old lady, Chiyo, if I recall correctly. She used some mysterious chakra thing to bring him back to life." The nurse said, waving it off. "Poor woman gave up her life for him so he could be with Hinata."

"Aww that's so sweet and sad." The nurse said. "Wait I remember that day, I was on this floor and all of the heart monitors jumped and then everything went back to normal."

"Yeah Chakra is a strange form of mojo. I don't trust it if you ask me." The nurse rambled on but Hinata stopped listening.

Gaara was in room 303. Instead of talking to the nurses she slowly headed to the room. It took her a few minutes to find it. She had to sneak past the nurse's station on hands and knees. Taking a deep breath she slowly pushed the door open. Tears gathered in her eyes as she saw the Kazekage lying in the bed breathing steadily. She couldn't help the tears that ran down her cheeks and she couldn't contain her happiness she ran to the bed and grasped his hand before dropping it back to his side and touching her hands to his cheeks. Feeling every line and feature on his face she let a tear fall onto his cheek. He stirred and she immediately backed away, afraid she would break him to pieces if he saw her. Another small movement and he was still once more. Without thinking much she slowly lifted the blanket. Being careful not to wake him she slid into the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist she rested her head gently on his chest. Finally comforted she drifted off to sleep. When she awoke again she was immobile, she opened her eyes and saw Gaara's arm wrapped around her she sighed before looking up, only to be met with two sharp aqua eyes.

"Eep!" she squeaked as her face turned red.

A small smile formed on the Kazekage's lips and he squeezed her a little tighter.

"Your awake." He said.

"Your alive." She smiled.

They stared at each other for a while and slowly their heads began to come together, they were only a breath apart when the door slammed open. They're shot up and away from each other as they stared at the two sand siblings and Matsuri entering the room.

"Oh!" Temari cried coyly. "Are we interrupting something? If we are we could come back later."

"No it's fine." Gaara said releasing Hinata as the Hyuuga attempted to climb out of the bed.

"I'll be going back to my room now, Ja ne everyone!" Hinata cried cheerfully, locking eyes with Gaara before disappearing out the door.

"Wait Hinata-chan!" Matsuri cried from behind the Hyuuga also exiting.

Making sure the door was shut Temari turned on Gaara as Kankurou took a seat next to the bed.

"So when are you going to ask her?" Temari asked anxiously.

"Ask who what?" The Kazekage asked puzzled.

"Oh you know who what!" Temari said stubbornly.

"Obviously I don't." Gaara said, they may have extracted the demon but he was still as stoic as ever.

"You love Hinata-chan right?" Temari asked.

Gaara gave her a curt nod afraid of where this was going. He hoped to God his sister didn't bring up…

"Well when are you going to ask her to marry you?"

Never mind… His eyes became glazed and he let his gaze drift to the window where the blue sky offered him an escape.

"Hello!" Temari said offended because he was ignoring her. "Well when are you going to snap into action?"

Gaara didn't answer his sister, he merely shrugged. The blonde sighed before walking to the door.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go get Naru…Hokage-sama." Temari grimaced at the title before leaving the room.

Kankurou leaned forward a grin on his face. Gaara immediately looked up, feeling a little fear at the mischievous glint in his brother's eyes.

"Get this," he said. "I met the most amazing girl ever!"

Gaara only stared an imaginary eyebrow raised, waiting for his pervert brother to continue. Catching the drift Kankurou continued.

"Her name is Rikku and I was waiting to tell you…" he said, before glancing around the room as if to make sure he was alone before leaning in and whispering. "I'm serious about her."

The Kazekage looked away from his brother and back out the window. Seemingly ignoring the 'dramatic' announcement.

"Hey are you ignoring me?" Kankurou asked, his voice slightly angry.

The red head let his eyes flick to his brothers and all the anger and happiness drained from the older boys face. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he let his brother focus his attention outside, even though he knew he was still listening.

"So…when are you going to tell her?" Kankurou asked quietly.

_Flash back_

"_Hyuuga Hinata."_

_The council was silent for a minute before looking at each other making Gaara suspicious. He opened his mouth to speak when an elder interrupted him._

"_I'm sorry Gaara-sama but you can not marry Hinata Hyuuga."_

_Gaara almost lost his cool. Gaara NEVER lost his cool. Nor did he ever come close to loosing his cool. Okay that was an exaggeration, Gaara lost his cool many many times, but not since his fight with Naruto, and right now he wanted to loose his cool all over the elders. _

"_Why not." He stated, gripping the sides of his chair tightly._

"_With accordance to a law signed by your great grandfather and the kage's of all the other villages." The elder said, pulling said document out of nowhere._

_Gaara grabbed the document from the elder's hands letting his eyes scan over the old sheet of paper._

"_It says." Another elder piped in. "That pacts are ideal, so only one member of the Kage family may marry someone from a particular village. So an example would be if Kankurou-san married someone from the rain village, neither you or Temari-san would be able to marry someone from that same village."_

"_But it also says this law can be revoked by the council." Gaara said through gritted teeth._

"_Then I think another vote is called for." The head elder replied. "Those in favor of revoking the law?"_

_Five hands rose defiantly and Gaara couldn't help but feel gratitude towards the five members. _

"_All for keeping the law the same." _

_Five more hands rose into the air, a few council members were too afraid to vote, and Chiyo hadn't voted at all. _

'_They should be afraid, how dare they deny us!' Shukaku rumbled._

_Gaara ignored his demon and fixed the head council member with his eyes for the elder man was about to speak._

"_Usually I would not vote during one of these situations." He spoke. "But for this situation I must stand firm, we will not change the law."_

_The arms of the chair Gaara was sitting in splintered. Some of the council members cringed but the head did not, instead he fixed Gaara with a hard stare._

"_However, I am prepared to make a deal. We will revoke the bill and you will be able to marry Hyuuga-san, but Temari-san will have to call off her wedding with Shikamaru Nara."_

_They watched the look of horror pass over their Kazekage's face before quickly fading._

"_Don't worry, you and Matsuri-san will be very happy together."_

_End Flash back_

Gaara had told Kankurou of his predicament, but he couldn't call off Temari's wedding. Not after everyone's combined effort to make such a joyous occasion happen, worst of all he wouldn't even be able to pick his own Suna bride. He HAD to marry Matsuri. Kankurou watched his little brother, concerned. He hadn't answered his question; he was about to say something when Gaara looked at him again.

"I'm not."

Kankurou stood from his chair and left the room, allowing his brother to sit in his silent regret.

--Page Break--

"Hinata-chan I have great news!" Matsuri said excited.

"What is it Matsuri?" she asked politely.

"I'm getting married!" She exclaimed.

"Aww that's great!" she said hugging the smaller girl. "Who is it?"

Matsuri blushed and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as a blonde young man bounded into the room followed by a red head.

"Hinata-chan! You're finally awake." Naruto exclaimed hugging the girl tightly.

"Yeah Hinata-chan, that's great!" Kasumi said smiling happily at her friend.

"It's nice to see you guys." The Hyuuga said, bowing and smiling at her two friends. "Especially you…Hokage-sama."

Naruto blushed and smiled even wider before wrapping an arm around both Hinata and Kasumi.

"Yup it's official!" The blonde shouted. "And this is my official secretary!"

he ruffled Kasumi's hair with a large hand.

"So is being Hokage as great as you always imagined it would be?" Hinata asked.

"And more!" he smiled wider before his face got serious. "But they keep pressuring me to get married." At this point he stared intently at Hinata.

"Really?" she said softly not noticing his stare. "That's a little unfortunate."

Naruto gave Kasumi a meaningful glance and the red head caught on immediately. She was about to leave when she noticed the small Suna girl standing awkwardly in the corner.

"Hey." She said pointing to said girl. "Come on, let's go get something from the cafeteria, I need a friend right now."

"Oh that reminds me!" Hinata said. "How's Yuki?"

Kasumi's face turned sad and looked at Hinata before quietly whispering her reply.

"She buried Akihiko yesterday." Kasumi said. "All by herself."

Hinata nodded, "I'll visit her later."

Kasumi smiled again before nodding. "I'm sure she'll like that."

With that the girls disappeared, and Naruto turned back to Hinata, he opened his mouth to speak, his cheeks slightly red. But before the new Hokage could speak the door to Hinata's hospital room opened again. This time Neji walked in and looked sadly at his cousin. Hinata being the good soul she was, was at his side in moments.

"Ni-san, what's wrong?" Hinata said tenderly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hanabi sent me to get you," Neji said softly. "To go see Hiashi-sama."

"Otou-san?" Hinata asked. "What's wrong with Otou-san?"

"He has a brain tumor Hinata." Neji said. "He doesn't have much time left."

Her opal eyes widened, as the conversation she had with the leader echoed in her head.

"_Your father has a brain tumor and will leave the Hyuuga clan virtually heirless."_

"_What!?" Hinata cried. "You're lying!"_

"_I wish I was." He said before holding out a paper butterfly. "Konan-san has been observing your village for a long time."_

Hinata nodded slowly, still in her stupefied state as she let Neji lead her out of the room, Naruto stood there speechless.

--Page Break--

"Shikamaru," Temari said softly as she leaned against her fiancé's shoulder.

"Hmm?" he asked tiredly as he stretched a little on the grass underneath the tree.

"Our wedding's gonna be great right?" Temari asked.

"Of course, Hinata's helping." Shikamaru said smiling down at her. "Everything that girl touches is perfect."

"Well if you like her so much why aren't you marrying her?" Temari asked grumpily.

"She's to pretty." Shikamaru said earning a smack as Temari stood and was about to stalk away from him.

"Hey!" he said catching her in an embrace. "I was only kidding! Besides who wants perfection all the time? It's boring." He said glumly resting his head on Temari's shoulder.

The blonde giggled and looked into his brown eyes.

"Perfection is good at times, which is why I trust her completely with our wedding." Temari said.

"Yeah me to." Shikamaru agreed.

"No you're just to lazy!" Temari teased, pulling away from him. "Besides." Another giggle escaped her. "If you thought Gaara would kill you for marrying me, imagine what he would do if you were going to marry Hinata!"

"Don't even joke about that." Shikamaru shivered.

"What? Now I can't tell a joke?" Temari asked, hurt. "You jerk!" and with that the blonde Suna ninja stalked off.

"What the?" Shikamaru asked confused. "Women." He muttered, planning to visit Hinata in the hospital so they could discuss his upcoming wedding.

--Page Break--

Kankurou wasn't a brooder. Anyone who had ever met him would say so. He was always happy or serious about something or other. Rikku who had known him for a few weeks now knew that he never brooded. So when she saw him walking down the street hands shoved in his pockets and head down she couldn't help but approach him.

"Kanky-kun?" she said, using a nickname he only overlooked around her.

The boy looked up at the title and smiled softly at the brown haired girl that was approaching him.

"Yeah? What's wrong Rikku-koi?" he asked smiling a little wider at her red cheeks.

"I-I should be asking you that question." She said calming herself.

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with me." He said. "I'm perfect!" but his narcissistic statement was lacking his usual attitude.

"There's something wrong Kanky and I'm not letting it go." She said, giving him a playful tug on his cat ears.

"Am I really that transparent?" he asked.

"Like a window." She answered.

Kankurou explained the situation to Rikku and her eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around her and cooed in her ear.

"Everything will be okay." He said. "I will find a way to fix this."

She turned to face him, her eyes giving him hope and determination to reach his goal.

"But where will you look?" she asked.

"In the old record room in Suna." He said. "There has to be something there."

"I want to help." She said suddenly.

"But the libraries in Suna." Kankurou said.

"Then it looks like I'm going to Suna with you." Rikku said defiantly.

Kankurou looked at her shocked for a minute before landing a kiss on her lips as he smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Then I guess we should pack you up, we're leaving tomorrow." Kankurou smiled.

--Page Break--

Yuki kneeled in front of her brother's grave, more tears flowing freely down her face as she prayed. She hadn't moved in hours the graveyards soil was familiar to her; she hadn't left since she buried him. She had no money to afford a gravestone or a coffin so she made her own. It paled in comparison to the large marble slab next to his but she didn't care she continued to sit, pray, and cry. Due to her previous training as a bodyguard she heard the footsteps that approached her, however she didn't care. Sasuke saw the girl sitting at the grave and knelt beside her.

"Yuki," he said softly, but she didn't react to him. "Yuki." He said again, placing a hand on her shoulder making the girl flinch. "You need to eat, Akihiko wouldn't want you to live like this."

She looked at him with harsh eyes, which were sunken deep into her head, her cheeks were extremely bony and it saddened Sasuke to see her like this.

"How would you know what he wanted?" she asked. "You weren't with him."

"But someone was." Sasuke said. "I'll take you to go see her."

Yuki looked away from him but slowly nodded and Sasuke helped her to her feet. They walked slowly out of the graveyard, Yuki sparing one last look at her brothers grave.

"Sasuke?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah." He answered her.

"Do you think he knew how much I loved him?" Yuki asked.

"Did you cry for him?" Sasuke asked.

"…Yeah…" she said looking at him weird her dark eyes puffy and tear marks staining her cheeks.

"Then of course he did."

--Page Break--

When Hinata entered her father's hospital room, she saw Hanabi sitting by his side silently. The blinds were down and the curtains drawn, in the plain white bed Hiashi sat. His once long hair was now nothing but wispy tufts on the crown of his head. Both of his eyes were dark; his skin was translucent and flaky. Hinata let a few tears slide down her cheeks as she pressed a hand to her mouth in shock. Without another moment she was at her fathers side, grasping his hand tightly.

"Otou-san, daijobu?" she asked softly.

His white eyes rolled and focused on her with a little difficulty, before he turned his head back to Hanabi.

"I told you not to allow her in." He slurred.

"I know Otou-san, demo." Hanabi began but was cut off.

"I don't want her in here!" he cried pulling his hand from her grip.

"Otou-san, you don't know what you're saying." Hinata said reaching for his hand again.

"I do!" he said. "I don't want you here! Get out!"

"Otou…" but Hinata was cut off.

"Your useless and weak!" he snapped at her. "I don't want you to be the last thing I see!"

"No I…" Hinata tried again.

"GET OUT!" Hiashi cried.

She ran out of the room not being able to stop her tears, she continued to run and run until she made it to the apartment her and Natsu shared. Jumping into her bed she fell into a troubled sleep.

--Page Break--

Neji glared at his uncle who merely stared up at the ceiling again.

"How could you Hiashi-sama!?" Neji cried. "She is your eldest daughter, and she cares about you, in yet you refuse to let her stay with you while your dying?"

"That's exactly it Neji." Hiashi said, his voice becoming weaker. "My daughter is a strong kind and loving person, I regret all that I've done to her. I am unworthy of her, and I refuse to cause her anymore pain by letting her watch me die."

Neji paused again before his face took on another look of anger.

"She loves you." Neji said. "Despite all that you have done to her she still loves you!"

"I know, that's why I want you to give her this." He said handing Neji a small package. "And I want you my nephew to take care of the Hyuuga clan. Change it for the better I know you can. So that there are no more problems. So that…" he turned towards his younger daughter and placed a hand on her cheek. "There are no more cursed seals."

There was a long pause in the room as the two younger Hyuuga's processed everything he has said.

"I love you Neji, like my own son. I love you Hanabi and more often have I favored you over your sister, but if you ever felt unloved." Hiashi said, piercing her soul with his all-seeing eyes. "Do not hold it against Hinata."

Hanabi nodded allowing her self a few tears as her father's body became limp. He focused his eyes on Neji one more time before speaking.

"Tell Hinata I love her, and that…I was always proud of her. Always."

That was the last word he spoke before Hiashi Hyuuga died.

--Page Break-- **(A/N: This is about a month later.)**

Hinata stood from her fathers grave, only Hanabi, Neji and herself knew of where his body truly lay while there was a large elaborate grave in his memory somewhere else. Bowing one last time she sprinted down the large Hokage monument and rushed to Ino's flower shop where Shikamaru would meet her.

"Your late." He said bored.

"Gomen!" she gasped, trying to regain her breath.

"Ino wont even let me in." Shikamaru said crossing his arms. "Looks like it's all up to you." He said.

Hinata took a deep breath and walked inside the shop, greeted with a friendly smiling blonde.

"Ohayo Hinata-chan." Ino said.

"Ohayo Ino-chan." Hinata replied back before leaning against the counter. "Ne Ino-chan, you know why I'm here right?"

"Of course I do!" the peppy blonde said. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told Shikamaru-teme. No way in hell!"

Hinata blanched; shocked Ino was able to keep such a cheery attitude even though she was obviously angry.

"Onegai Ino!" Hinata begged putting on her best pouty face.

"Why should I?" she said, and Hinata smiled knowing she would be able to get what she wanted from Ino.

"Because, I'm your friend and Shikamaru was your best friend." Hinata said fairly.

"So!" Ino said.

"So you should show your friends some love and help!" Hinata said. "And don't think I don't see that guy that's comes to see you every. Single. Day."

Ino blushed before she grinned and nodded her head making Hinata smile in triumph.

"Alright Hinata." Ino said. "I'll be the florist for Shikamaru and Temari's wedding."

"So we can expect the flowers at the wedding in three days?" Hinata asked.

"Hai." Ino nodded.

"And you have the right order?" Hinata asked again.

"Of course!" Ino answered arranging a few flowers.

"Arigotou Ino-chan!" Hinata said giving the blonde a big hug. "You're the best!" She cried as she exited the flower shop.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Ino said.

Hinata walked out the door and was faced with an anxious Shikamaru. He looked at her expectantly and waited for anything.

"Well!" He finally asked impatient.

"You've got your flowers!" Hinata said smiling.

"Ah thanks Hinata." Shikamaru said relieved. "Temari's coming this afternoon and…"

"I know Shikamaru, I have to go for a fitting today." Hinata said smiling at the Nara's nervousness.

--Page Break--

Rikku just got out of the shower and was drying her hair when she stepped into the room she now shared with Kankurou. He was sitting at his desk pouring over stacks and stacks of books. He sighed frustrated and collapsed on their bed. Rikku walked over to him and poked his stomach gently.

"What's wrong? She asked.

"I can't find ANYTHING!" he said. "I've looked and I've looked but I can't find anything."

"Do you have a copy of the law?" Rikku asked.

"Yeah it's on the desk." He muttered, rolling over.

Rikku read it and an idea struck her, she quickly picked up another book before a huge smile spread across her face.

"Kanky!" she said excited.

"What is it?" he asked, depressed.

"Well the law clearly states that the council can veto the law." Rikku said. "Chiyo-san is dead God rest her soul, and one just retired."

"So?" Kankurou asked, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Well now there's an even number, so they are obviously looking for a new council member." Rikku said, but Kankurou still gave a confused look. "You can become a council member!"

"Are you sure?" He asked, astounded.

"Yeah!" She said handing him a book before lying down on the bed and falling asleep.

--Page Break--

"Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" Kasumi asked looking up from the large stacks of papers she was organizing.

"Ano Hokage-sama asked me to come here." Hinata said.

"Oh, well he should be in his office." Kasumi said, smiling.

Hinata nodded before walking into the Hokage office. Naruto was pacing the floor when she entered. He whipped around and looked at her, his cheeks flushing and he began wringing his hands.

"Uh hello, Hokage-sama." Hinata said.

"Oh!" he said, surprised by her voice. "T-take a seat."

Hinata nodded and sat, trying to give him a reassuring smile in which he gave her a smile back. His hand went to his pocket and once again he looked nervous before he decided to speak.

"Hinata, we've known each other for a long time." Naruto said.

"Yes of course." Hinata said.

"And um I just wanted you to know that. I-I love you!" he said dropping to one knee blue eyes shining.

Hinata sat there stunned but she was even more stunned at the next thing he presented before her. He pulled a velvet box out and opened it, a silver ring sat in the middle with a sapphire sitting on top.

"Will you marry me?" he asked hopefully.

"N-n-naruto." Hinata said softly.

The blonde looked hopefully up at her, but when he looked into her white eyes he saw confusion.

"Can you give me an hour to think it over?" Hinata asked.

"O-of course!" he said.

Hinata rocketed from her seat and dashed out the door. Naruto blinked kneeling on the floor. The door opened and Kasumi peaked in.

"So how'd it go?" she asked.

"Um she said she'd be back in an hour." He said. "Is that good?"

"That's…great!" Kasumi said before ushering Naruto to his desk. "But until then why don't you do some paperwork."

Naruto nodded and began to sign the papers as Kasumi left.

'Let her say yes!' Kasumi prayed before going back to her desk.

--Page Break--

Hinata raced towards the gate to Konoha, Shikamaru stood waiting for her and his fiancé to arrive. When he saw Hinata he waved but she was so dazed that her eyes just gazed over him before they focused on the opening gate. Temari was the first one through the gate and she tackled Shikamaru in a hug. Hinata stepped foreword through the throng of Jounin to where the Kazekage stood with Matsuri by his side. They stared at each other for a minute, finally Hinata smiled.

"Gaara-kun, Matsuri-chan." The Hyuuga said, disappointed that she didn't get the same warm reception from the Kazekage.

"Hi Hinata-chan!" Matsuri said hugging the pale-eyed girl.

Hinata hugged her back but her eyes were focused on the red head that looked on with a steely face.

"Matsuri come here!" Temari commanded.

The brown haired girl nodded and rushed over to her soon to be sister in law as Hinata stepped towards the Kazekage. They stood for a moment in an awkward silence and Gaara went to pass her but Hinata stopped him. He looked at her with cold eyes making Hinata release his arm. He began to walk away a few of Suna Jounin following him.

"Gaara!" Hinata cried in alarm.

He turned towards her with a bored expression, her face was concerned, why was he acting so cold, so indifferent.

"Naruto…" Hinata said. "Naruto…he proposed to me."

Gaara looked at her, the same bored expression on his face making Hinata angry.

"I thought you would care!" Hinata cried.

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"Because…you said…I thought" she stammered.

"You thought what?" he asked.

"I thought you loved me…" Hinata said.

"Well I don't." he said simply, making a few tears fall down the Hyuuga's face. "Hinata-san I would like you to say hello to my fiancé. Matsuri say hello to Hinata-san."

Matsuri only smiled blushing and beaming at the cold-hearted Kage. Hinata blinked surprised for a minute before a grin spread across her face.

"You're kidding me right?" Hinata said. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not." Gaara said beginning to walk away but turning his head one last time. "I don't love you."

Hinata fell to her knees and sobbed, her head touching the ground, not caring that her fair complexion was marred with dirt.

--Page Break--

Kankurou closed the book, Rikku had given him and he sighed. He placed a hand on the sleeping girls face. He leaned down gently and placed a soft kiss on her cheek before getting up and leaving the room. Walking down the hall he made his way to the elder's room and banged hard on the door.

"Kankurou Sabuku do you know what time it is?" the elder said viciously.

"Um I don't care what I want is a request." Kankurou said.

"What's so important you must disturb me at 11:30 at night?" the elder asked impatiently.

"I want to be a council member."

--Page Break-- **(A/N: the next day)**

The red head awoke from his sleep feeling the pang in his heart as he glanced at a photo of him and Hinata he had placed on his nightstand. After slowly getting dressed and skipping his breakfast he headed to the Kage tower where Naruto waited to see him. Gaara walked into the Hokage's office and flinched at the brightness of the blonde mans smile, his own face was still stoic even though he wanted to die on the inside.

"There you are Gaara!" Naruto said cheerfully. "I was waiting forever for you!"

"Gomen." He apologized, averting his eyes from the other mans happy face.

"I wanted to ask something." Naruto said grinning wider.

Gaara looked up into his bright blue eyes and waited for him to speak when suddenly the door opened and a woman with long indigo hair came in. Naruto had his arms wrapped around her waist in a second.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelped in surprise.

"Anyway Gaara," Naruto said. "I was going to say we should have our weddings together."

Gaara looked at him for a moment before glancing at Hinata's hand where the silver ring with the large blue stone rested. He looked into her eyes and she looked back, her eyes steely and unsympathetic. Her Hyuuga eyes said to him what he had spoken in words the day before. 'I don't love you.' Gaara's face saddened before he looked down and she left the office after handing something to Naruto.

"Well what do you say Gaara?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Gaara only nodded before standing and left the tower glancing once at Hinata.

--Page Break--

Hinata was shuffling through Tsunade's old papers with Kasumi, her eyes gazing over a few papers.

"Thanks again Hinata." Kasumi said.

"No problem." Hinata answered with a smile.

One paper however caught her attention, it was yellowed and old. She briefly glanced over it before stopping and reading everything on the paper she pressed a hand to her lips and began to cry.

"Oh gomen Gaara." Hinata said her voice cracking.

--Page Break--**(A/N: Day of Temari and Shikamaru's wedding.)**

"How do I look?" Temari said.

"Gorgeous," Hinata reassured for the thousandth time that morning.

"Are you sure?" Temari asked nervously.

Hinata sighed as she finished pinning up Temari's hair.

"I'm sure." Hinata said showing Temari a mirror.

The sand ninja gasped and grabbed the pale girls cheeks never taking her eyes off the mirror.

"Shikamaru was right." Temari said in awe.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, twirling a few pieces of loose golden hair so that they hung down in small ringlets around her friends face.

"He said that everything you touch becomes perfect." Temari said smiling at her friend's reflection.

Hinata blinked a few times before laughing out loud, Temari soon joined in until there was a knock on the door. For a minute Temari's face looked excited and she was about to get up when Hinata shook her head and walked over to the door. Opening it a slight crack she peeked out.

"Hey Hinata." Ino said from behind the door, dressed in a peach colored kimono. "The flowers have been fixed, but unfortunately," she said glancing at the fumbling boy who carried a large vase and hiding her smile. "I have to stay to make sure someone!" she shouted at the boy, making him blush. "Doesn't mess with the arrangements ok?"

"Yes of course!" Hinata said. "Arigotou Ino-chan!"

She closed the door and turned back to Temari, who sat facing her, excitement shining from her eyes. Hinata frowned and shook her head, watching, as her friend's eyes turn dull.

"I doubt he'll even come." Temari pouted.

"Gaara's a little rough around the edges, demo, he loves you and he'll come to your wedding." Hinata reassured.

"He needs a woman that will smooth those edges." Temari said waggling her eyebrows at Hinata.

The pale-eyed girl quickly turned and let a few tears slide down her cheeks. Temari was unnerved at the silence and spoke.

"Hinata are you ok?" she asked as the Hyuuga took her engagement ring from her pocket.

After a few more minutes she turned to Temari with a smile, all evidence of tears gone and the ring clenched in her fist behind her back.

"Fine Temari-chan." Hinata said. "Now come on we have to get you into your Kimono." She spoke again gently pulling on Temari's yakuta sleeve.

--Page Break--

"Shikamaru hurry up!" Chouji called behind him, a little impatient with his best friend,

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Shikamaru said walking behind his best friend, however he stopped when he saw a familiar red head though a window in an inn.

"Shikamaru!" Chouji cried.

"You go on, I'll be there in a minute." Shikamaru said distracted.

"You're going to be late." Chouji sighed.

"No I wont," Shikamaru said. "I promise."

With that the Nara disappeared into the building that the Kazekage was staying in.

"What ever." Chouji grumbled before continuing to the church.

After getting the room number from the receptionist Shikamaru raced up the stairs and knocked on the door. He waited patiently for the door to open, and after about five minutes he was faced with a bleary looking red head.

"What do you want Nara?" Gaara said sleepily.

"I want to know why you aren't at my wedding." Shikamaru answered his tone testy.

"Pfft!" Gaara rolled his eyes. "Like I care about you're wedding."

"You should." Shikamaru said before pushing his way into the apartment. "I'm getting married to your sister."

"Then go get married!" Gaara moped. "Just get married so I can move on. I don't get my happy ending so I don't want to see anyone else's"

"This is your sister's wedding!" Shikamaru insisted. "Don't you care, at least a little bit?"

The Kazekage stared then blinked a few times before locking eyes with Shikamaru and becoming angry.

"No!" he snapped.

"Listen to me you over emotional freak! I know you have some issues and emotional baggage that you need to work out. But this is Temari's wedding and I don't care if I have to drag you to the chapel dressed as is, you ARE going to this wedding."

Gaara didn't say anything he just stood there and blinked, this went on for five minutes before Shikamaru had enough. He walked into the kitchen grabbed a glass of water and through it on the red headed young man. The sand ninja spluttered and coughed for a minute before looking up, a glare fixed at Shikamaru.

"Fine I'll go." He ground out.

"Good." Shikamaru smiled before grabbing the kimono Temari had left out for her brother. "Hurry up or we'll be late."

"Shikamaru?" Gaara asked.

"Hmmm?" the groom asked, picking up the pace as they headed for the church.

"I thought you were the lazy one." Gaara said watching him closely.

Shikamaru paused before laughing, and Gaara couldn't help the small smile that formed on his lips.

"See what your sister does to me? What a drag."

--Page break--

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE!" Temari screamed as she broke the mirror in the bride's dressing room.

Hinata ducked behind the chair Temari had been sitting all day, trying to avoid the small pieces of glass that scattered everywhere.

"AHHH!" Temari cried punching a large hole through the wall. "HOW COULD HE BE LATE? HOW COULD HE BE LATE?" This time she picked up the chair Hinata was using as a shield and splintered it with her bare hands.

Then Temari did something Hinata had never seen her do, she dropped to her knees and cried, at first it started off as soft sobs but soon it reached hysterics.

"Temari-chan?" Hinata asked quietly. "If you cry you'll ruin your makeup."

"I don't care if I ruin my God dammed makeup!" she sobbed.

Hinata wrapped her arms around her best friend who latched onto her and cried for a long ten minutes. Soon Temari pulled away from her best friend and looked at the bride's maid gown.

"I got snot, tears and make up all over." She said smiling wistfully. "Gomen ne, it looks terrible."

"If it's Temari-chan's tears, snot, and make up." She began placing a hand on the blondes shoulder. "Then I will wear the dress with pride."

Silence fell between the two friends and Hinata took this as her cue to start cleaning up, as Temari sat on her knees hands folded in her lap and head down.

"He's not going to marry me, is he?" Temari asked her friend quietly.

The Hyuuga paused, thinking of what to say in such a situation. Luckily she was spared the discomfort of answering when Chouji opened the door and peeked in.

"He's uh…" Chouji began nervously, taking in all the damage done to the room.

Both girls hearts almost beat out of their chests as they waited silently for what Chouji would say.

"He's here." And with that the young man quickly ducked out the door.

Relief passed over both of the girls faces but soon Temari's face turned enraged and she stood. Not even waiting for the wedding march to begin she stomped out the door. Hinata rushed out after her, afraid of what her blonde friend was going to do. Everyone in the church looked on in shock as the woman stomped down the aisle.

"You dirty." She began, yanking off a high heel and throwing it, accidentally striking Naruto in the head. "Rotten." She continued, hurling her other shoe that landed in Kiba's lap. "Bastard!" she huffed tossing the bouquet behind her, which Hinata luckily caught.

"Gome…" Shikamaru began but was cut off as Temari yanked him by the front of his kimono.

"You!...You were late!" she accused, her voice rising a few octaves. "You were late for…for our wedding!"

Hinata stood next to Chouji and both of them looked on in awe as the situation progressed. That's when Hinata caught a glimpse of red and saw Gaara sitting, being the only person on Temari's side of the church. However the furious blonde failed to notice.

"Of all the things to be late to!" Temari cried. "Our WEDDING!"

"I have a good reason." Shikamaru said.

"Oh you do, do you!?" Temari shrieked making a few people wince. "Well enlighten us oh so smart one!"

"I was late to our wedding," he began slowly. "Because I had to pick up a special guest."

"A special guest? This is supposed to be my day and you went to get a special guest?" Temari shouted in disbelief. "Alright! Where's this 'special' guest?"

Shikamaru pointed to the very front pew and Temari gasped as she saw her little brother sitting there waving slightly and smiling. Temari felt tears prickle her eyes and she looked back at Shikamaru who only nodded. Without a moments hesitation she pulled on the collar of his Kimono again and pressed her lips firmly to his.

"I love you, you dumb ass."

**A/N: I know this is late but my internet wasn't working and now we have it fixed. Two more chapters and that's…it. Sob. Anyway review!**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: Hopefully I will be able to finish this story by the end of the week. I'm not sure but I will try! I know these chapters are long but the last chapter will be shorter and better for all the fans of my story.**

**Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto would you want this story to be in the actual show?**

**Chapter: 50**

Hinata stared at the ceiling her face blank. It was only seven o'clock and her friends had been desperate to give her a party, since tomorrow was her wedding day, but she had refused. Natsu wasn't even in the house; she was being prepped for surgery and would miss Hinata's wedding tomorrow. However the Hyuuga didn't mind, instead she let her mind wander back to the reception of Shikamaru and Temari's wedding from a month ago.

_Flash Back_

"_Hinata why don't you dance?" Temari asked her friend, ushering to the dance floor._

"_Oh no Temari, really I'm good." Hinata excused as her blond friend pulled her away from her blond fiancée._

"_Hinata what's wrong with you?" Temari asked worried._

"_Nothing." The Hyuuga said, giving her a weak smile._

"_Then you should have no problem dancing with my brother." She said._

_The next thing Hinata knew she was being held up two strong arms. She stood up and looked into two passionate aqua eyes. She averted her own as they stood facing each other. There hands brushed and Hinata quickly looked up. A slow song started to play and everyone's eye's fell onto silent ninja._

_Never knew I could feel like this_

_Like I've never seen the sky before_

_Want to vanish inside your kiss_

_Everyday I love you more and more_

_Gaara grabbed her hands and swept her into one of the many waltz's he had been taught when he became Kazekage. Hinata kept her head down as the tears burned behind her eyes. It was one of the songs Gaara had allowed her to listen to while she was in Suna, it never had meant anything before, but now it was causing the young Hyuuga so much pain._

_Listen to my heart can you hear it sing?_

_Telling me to give you everything_

_Seasons may change_

_Winter to spring_

_Hinata leaned towards his ear so that he was the only one who would hear her plea._

"_Please stop, this isn't right." Hinata said, a tear falling onto his shoulder._

"_But I love you, until the end of time_." _Gaara softly sang with the music, ignoring what she had told him_

_Come what may, come what may_

_I will love you, until my dying day_

_Temari bit her lip, Hinata's tears weren't invisible. She reached for Shikamaru, who allowed her to cling, but he wasn't able to stop the next statement that came out of his mouth._

"_You shouldn't have done that."_

_Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place_

_Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace_

_Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste_

_It all revolves around you_

_Hinata looked at Gaara, neither one missed Temari and Shikamaru's exchange. His eyes weren't as dry as they had been when the song had started and Hinata could tell. Still the two continued to dance. Oblivious to the shocked stares from the onlookers. _

_And there's no mountain to high, no river too wide_

_Just sing out this song and I'll be there by your side_

_Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide_

"_But I love you_." _Hinata sang and the song echoed back._ "_Until the end of time_."

_Gaara broke away from her and turned away before beginning to walk away. Hinata stood on the dance floor hugging herself and letting the tears fall. Naruto rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, but Hinata watched Gaara's retreating figure silently._

_Come what may_

_Come what may_

_I will love you, until my dying day_

_End Flashback_

A single tear slid down Hinata's cheek as she rolled over and pushed back the memory. Temari had apologized a thousand times after that but Hinata was numb to it. Looking on the night table she saw the kunai the leader gave her. She picked up the cool metal knife and her headband, and for a few minutes she actually thought about slicing her headband. After a few minutes she let the kunai fall from her hand and she rolled over, not moving again for the rest of the night.

---Page Break---

"Okay, just a little more powder on the nose and we're all done!" Sakura beamed as she suffocated Hinata with the large powder sponge in her hand.

"Is that it?" Temari emphasized from her place on the stool were the seamstress was making last minute arrangements.

"No." Sakura pouted. "But Ino called dibbs on her hair."

"Can you call her in then Sakura?" Hinata asked in a monotone.

The pinkette looked at the dark haired girls reflection worriedly before forcing a smile.

"Of course, I'll go get her now." She said before exiting.

"Hinata what's wrong?" Temari asked, trying to move off the stool. "OW!"

"Well if you don't want me to poke your butt." Tenten said from her spot on the ground. "Then stay STILL!"

The platinum haired girl bounced in and after quite a while of yanking and pulling at the Hyuuga's dark hair was officially done.

"Come on Tenten let's get ready!" Ino called excitedly behind her as she was leaving.

Both girls exited and Temari took the chance to pounce on Hinata.

"What's wrong?" Temari asked fluffing Hinata's buns and shifting her bangs to the right, covering a little of her pale eyes. "It's your wedding day you should be happy."

Hinata was still silent staring at her blank reflection. Temari leaned down and rested her chin on Hinata's shoulder.

"Naruto is your child hood sweet heart. It's the fairytale ending you've always dreamed of." Temari said sighing.

"Your right." Hinata answered. "Will you leave me alone for a few minutes?"

"But, are you sure your okay?" Temari asked warily.

"Of course." Hinata said cheerfully, turning and smiling at her best friend.

"Oh thank goodness." Temari said smiling. "The wedding starts in a few minutes, I'll see you then okay?"

The Hyuuga nodded and her friend stepped out the door, the smile melted and she reached into the drawer of her vanity and pulled the leaders kunai.

---Page Break---

"Hinata-sama!" Neji cried about to open the door to her dressing room.

As the door began to open it was slammed closed by a sudden weight from the other side.

"Hinata?" Neji asked worriedly.

"H-hai Neji-ni?" Hinata asked, her voice shaky.

"I've come to walk you down the aisle." Neji said.

"I'll be out in a few minutes." Hinata said, her head bowed.

"Okay I'll be waiting." Neji answered and stepped back from the door.

In a few moments the door's opened and Hinata stepped out. She walked slowly and even continued down the aisle when her cousin made no move to escort her. The bouquet of white roses was slowly being stained crimson. When the guests got a glance at the bride to be, they gasped. Hinata blinked every few seconds to keep the blood out of her eye. Carved onto the left side of her forehead was the kanji of love matching Gaara's, the kunai in her pouch, was still stained with fresh blood. Gaara who had been standing next to Matsuri and watching stepped forward and reached a hand out to her but the Hyuuga ducked away from him and stood facing her to be husband. Naruto looked at Hinata with concerned eyes but soon smiled and grabbed one of Hinata's hands and the ceremony began.

"Naruto do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?" Tsunade asked.

"I do," Naruto said, placing a gentle kiss on Hinata's hand.

"Hinata," Tsunade said smiling. "Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?"

She blinked at her ex-hokage through the dried blood caked on her face and opened her trembling lips.

"I'm glad we didn't miss the wedding." A familiar deep voice commented.

Hinata whipped around and let her eyes fall onto the leader of the Akatsuki. Everyone gave another collective gasp.

"I was hoping I could walk you down the aisle myself." He teased.

Hinata glared and stepped foreword.

"Get out." She glared.

"But we still want to see how it all turns out." Pein said.

"Lee, Gai, Kakashi." Naruto called and within moments the three ninja were at their Hokage's side. "Take the villagers and my wife and bring them somewhere safe."

"No!" Hinata cried, throwing her bouquet to the ground and stepping foreword toward the Akatsuki leader, glad Kunoichi were trained in heels. "This is MY battle and I will fight it myself."

Naruto nodded after a moment of hesitation and the three ninja rocketed away. Tsunade glanced at the young man. 

"I have to get to the hospital, Natsu should be under and there are even worse patients." She said worried.

"Fine, then I will leave the protection of the hospital to you." Naruto said clenching his fist in frustration.

Hinata stepped closer to the leader before he flashed her a grin and sped off. The Hyuuga narrowed her eyes and ran after him yanking the ornaments out of her hair as she went.

"Hinata wait!" Naruto cried about to run after his to-be-wife but he stopped as Gaara raced past him after Hinata.

"Gaara-san…" Matsuri said at a loss after the red head disappeared through the door.

"Come on we'll go after him." Naruto said smiling.

Matsuri smiled back but anxiety still shone in her eyes.

"Oh no you two aren't going without me!" Kasumi cried walking towards them and linking arms with the two. "Let's go save your future spouses!"

"Ojou-sama." Yuki said softly.

The red head glanced at the black haired girl who was watching helplessly as Sasuke dashed out of the church alone.

"Go with him Yuki." Kasumi reassured. "That's an order."

Yuki looked back at her mistress concerned but the red head wouldn't be swayed.

"Go…NOW!" she stressed.

She nodded her head before following after Sasuke. Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo, and Sora all ran out before splitting into pairs and dashing in opposite directions. Shikamaru was dragged after Temari who tried to run out the door.

---Page Break---

Hidan grinned manically at Shikamaru and Temari, both dressed in formal kimonos. Quickly Shikamaru tied his long sleeves to reveal his tan arms, Temari untied her ornate kimono and let it fall to the dirt and instead took up a fighting position wearing her under kimono instead tearing the sleeves.

"I wonder if it would be easier for you to fight with something a little shorter on," Hidan mused staring at Temari with a large grin on his face.

"Temari get out of here!" Shikamaru cried angered as he tried to push his wife away from the raving immortal.

"No way!" Temari fumed.

"You're in a kimono which screws you over when it comes to Taijutsu, and you don't have your fan." Shikamaru cried.

"I'm not going to leave you here with this sadist!" Temari said, her eyes now locked on her husband brimming with worry.

"Don't worry about it!" Shikamaru said. "I'll be right with you in a few minutes."

"Why does no one seem to fuckin understand that I'm an immortal?" Hidan pondered out loud.

"Please Temari, just go, for me." Shikamaru said, eyes shining with emotion.

Without another word Temari sprinted away and Shikamaru turned back to his opponent. Hidan grabbed his scythe and swung it in front of him as if to test it.

"Well haven't you snagged an obedient bitch?" Hidan commented.

"Pfft, I doubt it." Shikamaru said before forming a few seals.

Hidan merely watched disinterested as Shikamaru shot his shadow towards him. Once caught Shikamaru made him throw the scythe across the ground and then take up his thinking pose.

'_There must be a weak spot.'_ He thought. _'If he's immortal, he can't bleed to death, and _

_obviously his heart isn't his weak spot, then where is it?_'

"Not that using your noggin isn't good but this is boring." Hidan said matching Shikamaru's pose. "Besides no matter how hard you scramble those brains of yours you wont find a way to defeat me."

'_That's it!'_ Shikamaru thought as an epiphany washed over him. _'His brain!'_

The shadow receded and Hidan stood there impatiently as he waited for Shikamaru to make the first move. When the lazy boy still didn't move he grumbled before glaring at the young man.

"Come on squirt." He said. "I'm making this real easy for you."

Still Shikamaru didn't respond. He remained bent over in his thinking position. Hidan got angry and would not wait anymore. He lunged at Shikamaru who was barely able to dodge the punch thrown by him. Unfortunately Shikamaru was to slow and when Hidan had retrieved his scythe and attacked him again. However the large man was blown back by a large gust of wind. Shikamaru's head whipped around and he felt his stomach drop as he saw Temari standing a few feet away her fan brandished.

"I told you to leave." Shikamaru huffed.

"I did leave." Temari said simply while shrugging. "I had to change my clothes."

He eyed her; she stood in her fighting stance wearing a pair of his dark brown pants and a green loose fitting top that he had bought her a while back.

"Fine." Shikamaru sighed. "I guess you can stay."

Temari bit back a smart comment about how she didn't NEED his permission to be there but instead stood next to her husband.

"Alright what's the plan?" she asked.

"Very simple." Shikamaru answered, glancing toward the blonde women as the Hidan struggled to get up. "We aim for the head."

Temari nodded slowly and pensively before preparing to whip her fan out. The married couple attacked the large man getting the occasional cut. Finally Shikamaru was able to slice off Hidan's head.

"Way to go!" Temari said pulling her husband into a tight embrace.

"What are you celebrating for?" Hidan's gruff voice snapped.

They both turned to see the lumbering, headless body of the immortal stumble over to where the severed head lay.

"I'm not that easy to kill!" the head cried as it was lifted towards his severed neck.

"Quick Temari!" Shikamaru cried.

Temari nodded at her husband and she let out a sharp gust of wind that cut his head vertically. Silence fell once again and the two young adults looked at each other in relief.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the head laughed from it's two split parts. "You can't kill me!"

Shikamaru looked on in horror while Temari clung to his arm tightly.

"Just like your pathetic sensei!" Hidan continued to mock him. "I'll kill your weak ass just like I did his!"

Shikamaru's fear evaporated and all that was left was anger. Forming a few hand signs he dashed forward, ducking under the outstretched arm of Hidan's lumbering form. He grabbed each half of Hidan's head, ignoring the blood that stained his hands, and using his jutsu he buried the mans head in the earth. The large body was about to attack Shikamaru when Temari quickly used one of her wind attacks to blow the large body away. Shikamaru stood and glared at the arm Temari had severed from the mans huge body.

"What are you crazy!" Temari yelled at her husband.

"Do you think you can do that again?" Shikamaru asked, standing straight and beginning the hand seals again.

"Do what again?" Temari asked aggravated.

"Cut him up." Shikamaru said, the anger evident in his voice.

"But w-why?" Temari asked taking a step back. "You're scaring me."

He buried the arm under the ground before turning on his wife, a furious glint in his chocolate brown eyes. The blonde slowly nodded and piece-by-piece the immortal was buried alive by the angry young man. When there was no more Shikamaru collapsed to the ground and sat, staring ahead not really seeing anything. Temari kneeled in front of him and gently held his face in her hands. He looked up at her slightly confused and more then a little dazed. She kissed him gently on the forehead while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She kneeled in front of him and waved the half empty cigarette pack in front of him.

"So now that Asuma's been avenged can we say good bye to the cancer sticks?" Temari asked.

"How long have you known?" Shikamaru asked lazily, scratching the back of his head.

"Since Asuma died." Temari answered.

"How…?" he asked dumbfounded.

"I do your laundry idiot!" Temari said smacking him lightly on the head.

He chuckled and pulled her onto his lap before resting his hands on her stomach. Temari froze as she felt something move inside her.

"Aww the baby kicked." Shikamaru said, keeping his hands on his wife's abdomen.

"When did you find out?" Temari asked.

"When I found out about the last minute alterations to your dress this morning." Shikamaru grinned.

"Idiot." Temari mumbled.

---Page Break---

"Well if this isn't a pleasant surprise." Kakazu said as he looked on at Sora and Jugo who stood facing the man. "It seems as if we will be battling again."

"Yeah and we'll finish you this time." Sora replied cocky.

"I'm sure one of us will." Kakazu answered.

"Sora." Jugo whispered as he continued to stare at the stitch man. "I've been doing some research on this guy."

"What did you find out?" Sora whispered back.

But before Jugo could answer her, a thick string of Kakazu cords shot at them; they fell away from each other at the same time letting the pointed tip stab the air. Sora landed and rolled away, avoiding a few more cords that Kakazu sent shooting from the ground while Jugo summoned a bird that would be able to carry both of them. Sora began to get to her feet a little late and Jugo had to dive and grab her or she would be stabbed.

"I see you have learned." Kakazu commented. "However my cords are not earth bound.

With that he shot thin strands up at them and the bird. Jugo swerved dodging most of the cords. Sora felt her stomach lurch.

"Oh God" she groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten before the wedding."

She leaned over the side of the bird and vomited but she was quickly pulled back up as a cord grazed her cheek. Even though the cord barely grazed Sora's cheek, it caught the wing of the large bird. As the winged creature brought it's wings up to flap the cord quickly went to work and tied both wings together making the bird unable to fly. Jugo and Sora grabbed onto each other to guard each other from the harsh oncoming impact. They hit the ground running and Kakazu followed after them.

"Quick impart your knowledge upon me!" Sora gasped as they continued ducking and dodging tree limbs as they went.

"What?" Jugo asked confused.

"TELL ME WHAT YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT HIM!" Sora cried.

"Okay, okay!" Jugo said. "Alright well I found out that he has seven hearts."

"Seven!" Sora gasped.

"Yeah seven, which is why he doesn't die that easily." Jugo said. "So you take three and I'll take four."

"No way!" Sora said angrily. "Why do you get more then me?"

"Cause you're a girl." He snorted.

"WHAT!" Sora shrieked about to smack him.

"Fine! Then how do you suggest we fix this problem?" Jugo growled.

"I take four and you get three." Sora answered.

"No way!" he gritted his teeth.

"Fine, three each then whoever finishes their three first gets to take the fourth one." Sora compromised.

"Deal." Jugo smirked.

"Just don't die." Sora snapped.

They both jumped away from each other and began launching lethal attacks at Kakazu. The Akatsuki member was caught off guard, Sora was able to destroy one of his hearts with a kunai, while Jugo destroyed one by using one of his forbidden jutsu's by shoving his hand deep inside Kakazu and crushing the heart. Of course they were hit a few times but they moved fast enough so they weren't hurt to bad. Kakazu slowed down every time one of his hearts was destroyed. Sora used a fire jutsu to burn a hole threw Kakazu's chest and destroyed her final heart. She glanced over at Jugo while dodging an attack. He was still working on his third heart. Grinning she jumped over Kakazu to face him and smiled.

"Alright slowpoke, this is your last heart I'm about to destroy. Any last words?" she asked.

"Just four." He said knocking Jugo away into a tree.

Sora gasped as thick coils of thread wrapped themselves tightly around her ankle making her wince.

"Don't underestimate the Akatsuki." He said in a monotone flipping her upside down.

She felt the sharp point of a long thick cord he summoned start to dig into her back. The blood slowly began to drip down into her hair. Her vision swam and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. The stinging pain disappeared from her back for a moment before it lashed across her sensitive skin. She cried out this time, writhing as Kakazu hit her across the back, treating his cord like a whip. He stopped his onslaught for a moment and waited until the pain receded.

"Is that all y-you got, pansy?" she chocked out.

"No, I'm simply waiting for you to regain your grasp on reality so that the killing blow will be more painful and in a sense more meaningful." Kakazu replied.

Sora's heart sped up and she felt the very tip of the cords scrape into the already raw flesh of her back, before pulling away. She closed her eyes and couldn't help her body from shaking in fear.

Sora was yanked from her frightened reverie as Jugo tackled her to the ground dislocating her leg but saving her from the painful killing blow. Instead of the sharp cord killing Sora it penetrated Kakazu's body and ripped his final heart apart. His corpse collapsed cords splitting his skin and falling limp on the ground, the remaining piece of his heart trembling for a moment before stopping completely.

"Are you okay?" Jugo asked, trying to regain his breath as Sora pushed her leg back in its proper place with a sharp intake of breath.

"I had him right were I wanted!" she cried. "But you just had to be macho and save me!"

"FINE!" Jugo growled. "I won't be saving your ass anymore."

They glared at each other for a few minutes before Sora smiled softly.

"Thanks." She said before standing and reaching out a hand for Jugo to take.

"No problem, besides I couldn't let my partner die tight after I had found her." Jugo said wrapping an arm around her waist and escorting her back into Konoha.

---Page Break---

"We meet again." Suigetsu grinned at the shark man who was clashing swords with him.

"Chop suey right?" Kisame asked.

Suigetsu gritted his teeth and pushed hard on the sword before landing a fierce kick in

Kisame's groin. The shark mans face contorted in pain but he did not weaken his fighting stance.

"My name is Suigetsu." Suigetsu gritted his teeth.

"Aww did I h-hurt the little ones feelings?" Kisame asked pushing back on Suigetsu's sword.

"I only told you my name a million times!" Suigetsu snapped.

He jumped away before coming back with a hard vicious blow making the steel sing. Kisame grinned and they both began to clash and fight again. At the end of ten minutes Kisame sported quite a few cuts and bruises, while Suigetsu had chunks of shredded flesh hanging off his arms and stomach. They both stood their, winded, eyes focused on each other but neither making a move to attack.

"Damn your sword." Suigetsu panted ripping off a few distracting dangling pieces of skin.

"What are you upset about now? Does my technique with a blade astound you?" he asked good heartedly.

"Hell no," Suigetsu breathed. "I could beat you in a swordfight any day!"

"Really?" Kisame asked. "Then why did you just loose?"

"Because of that DAMN sword of yours!" Suigetsu growled. "It's not fair because it has special powers."

"I would still beat you with my hands behind my back!" Kisame snapped.

"No you wouldn't!" Suigetsu gritted out pushing harder on his blade.

"Yes…I would." Kisame said with a little less anticipation as frustration set in.

"Then I have a deal to make with you." Suigetsu said. "In order to prove which swordsman is better, we fight! No jutsu's, no tricks, no special swords with special abilities."

"Then what will we be fighting with?" Kisame asked.

"A plain katana will do." Suigetsu said.

"Alright then!" the shark man grinned and pulled a katana out of the recesses of his cloak and swung at Suigetsu.

"K-karin!" Suigetsu cried. "HELP!!"

The girl looked at him warily through her glasses, she had just sat down. She yawned.

"Can't YOU get it?" she asked.

"I'm a little busy at the moment!" he cried dodging another flurry of blows.

"Fine…whiner." She grumbled standing up and digging through the cloak Suigetsu had brought to the wedding. "Here you go, have fun with it." She said tossing the blade to him before plopping back down onto the grass.

Suigetsu caught it and turned just in time to get his cheek sliced open by a swift movement of his blade. The young man grimaced and smacked a hand onto his cheek to stifle the bleeding. The battle continued uselessly like that for a few moments, Suigetsu running and Kisame attacking. However the game of cat and mouse came to an end when Kisame tripped over a pretty large rock. When Suigetsu heard the deep 'oof' he spun around and couldn't hide his laughter.

"It's not funny!" Kisame defended.

"Y-yes it is!" Suigetsu gasped holding his side, while Karin who remained seated was trying to disguise her snorts of laughter as coughs. "An elite ninja tripping over a rock!"

"It wasn't a rock!" Kisame cried. "It was a freaking boulder!"

The shark man got up and tried to look threatening but he only succeeded in making Suigetsu laugh harder.

"You-you tripped on a rock!" Suigetsu said once he regained most opf his composure.

"It was a BOULDER!" Kisame cried pointing at the offending rock.

Suigetsu looked over to where the blue man was pointing and his laughter ceased immediately.

"You're right," he said slowly. "You didn't trip over a rock."

"See! I told you!" Kisame cried triumphantly.

"But it wasn't a boulder either." Suigetsu said giving him a weary look.

"Then what the heck was it?" Kisame turned and studied the 'rock' closer before his face became ashy.

"T-t-t-turtle!" he cried before shoving Suigetsu in front of him.

"A turtle?" He asked. "Are you seriously afraid of a turtle?"

"Hell yeah!" Kisame said. "Snapping turtles bite like a mofo!"

Suigetsu gave him a disbelieving look, before he sighed and readied his blade again. He flashed Kisame a confident smirk.

"What's that look for?" Kisame asked.

"At first, I was afraid of you." Suigetsu said.

"As you should be!" Kisame said puffing out his scaly chest.

"I hesitated, afraid that I would get killed." Suigetsu elaborated. "But now…" he grinned again. "That fear is gone."

He walked over to the turtle and lifted it off the ground with a grunt before walking towards Kisame who tried to scramble up a tree.

"Aww come on! He just wants to say hi." Suigetsu teased chasing Kisame with the large animal.

With a sickening crack Kisame crashed into a low branch and laid there dazed. Suigetsu dropped the poor turtle to the ground and held his blade against Kisame's neck.

"That was painful!" he sneered. "One of the men who call themselves the seven swordsmen of the mist, and wielder of Sameheda defeated by a turtle. It's an honor to die by me."

With one quick flick of his wrist Kisame's head was separated from his body. Suigetsu flailed the sword in the air a few times flinging blood in every direction before walking over to the turtle that was slowly try to make his way back to his spot in the sun.

"Hey there buddy." He said leaning close to its face. "Thanks for the help AHHHHHHHH!"

Suigetsu released a shrill scream as the turtle bit down hard on his nose. The mist ninja ran over to Karin who had risen from the ground.

"Oh my god! Is it bleeding? Is it bleeding? It's bleeding isn't it! IS IT BLEEDING!" he wailed. "Evil! Vile! Disgusting! Little Satan spawn of a creature I hate you!" he continued glaring at the turtle.

"Oh shut up Suigetsu." Karin sighed before hoisting the turtle herself and putting him back in his proper place. "There, see you're not mean at all are you mister turtle."

"No Karin don't! It'll give you cancer!" Suigetsu cried hiding behind a tree.

She sighed before patting the turtle's shell fondly and walking towards her cowering teammate.

---Page break---

Sasuke and Yuki dashed out of the glorious church hot on the tail of Itachi. The older Uchiha glanced back and smirked before speeding up a little. Sasuke was about to go into a full out sprint when Yuki crossed in front of him sliding a long Katana that had blended well with the back of her kimono. She was a very graceful fighter and even while running she was able to keep her arm and sword steady, poised to strike. What shocked Sasuke the most was when she sped up even more and slashed at Itachi as she flipped over him.

Itachi stopped, both exits being blocked by the two younger ninja. Yuki glanced at her silver blade before moving it swiftly to rid it of the blood that slowly dripped down it. Itachi touched the side of his face and lifted his pale fingers away to see crimson staining his hands. He glanced at the dark haired girl before turning to face Sasuke, aware of every movement the two ninja made.

"After all these years Sasuke." Itachi said his voice in a low monotone. "And the one to land a hit on me isn't you, but a girl. A girl I don't even know."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before turning a glare at Yuki who bowed her head.

"Sasuke-san, don't listen to him, he is trying to turn us against each other." Yuki answered rationally.

"Oh Sasuke, how far have you fallen. Taking orders from a girl." Itachi said glancing back at Yuki and smirking.

"Shut up." Sasuke said, his eyes still focused on the girl across from him.

"Don't listen to him." Yuki said sternly.

"Don't take orders from a women." Itachi echoed.

"Yuki!" Sasuke snapped. "Don't lay another finger in him!"

The dark haired girl glanced at Itachi before nodding and putting away her katana. Itachi smirked at his little brother.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes…" Sasuke said.

"Then prepare little brother." Itachi said. "For the beating of a lifetime."

The two Uchiha brothers began to battle using only Taijutsu, but it soon escalated into a battle using every technique they have ever learned, forcing Yuki to watch from a safe place further away. Sasuke formed his chidori, but before he could even reach Itachi the ground exploded and it was quite apparent who had the upper hand. Yuki dashed foreword, and she gasped at what she saw. Itachi leaned up against a tree while Sasuke was gasping on his hands and knees. Itachi looked like a wreck, bruises and cuts marked his arms legs and face. His ponytail was gone and his hair was singed so he had a hairstyle resembling Sasuke's. Sasuke's face was covered in blood, however it all leaked from the same deep cut in his for head, his hair had also burned off in sections, so it was ultimately hard to recognize him. Slowly he stood before reaching into his kunai pouch.

"It's time to finish t-this." He said his hands shaking as he pulled out the scroll with Orochimaru's seal on it.

Itachi watched for a moment before he seemed to get angry. Tipping a little he was able to stand upright and he stomped over to Sasuke who tried to move out of the way but failed.

"I thought you wanted to avenge our clan!" Itachi snapped, twisting the young mans arm behind his back.

"I do!" He grunted. "That's why I need the scroll…to defeat you!"

Itachi ripped the scroll from his brother's hand before throwing him onto the ground.

"You're a fool." He hissed. "Orochimaru NEVER succeeded in defeating me with any of his jutsu's. But that's beside the point. These jutsu that he used, they're dangerous!"

"Don't pretend you start caring now!" Sasuke cried, glaring at his brother.

"Why do you have to be so weak Sasuke!" Itachi growled, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and pulling him up to eye level. "Why are you so stupid!"

Sasuke tried to wrench free but instead Itachi held tighter and reached into his kunai pouch.

"Prattling on about revenge, in yet not knowing anything about it!" he ranted shoving the cool metal weapon into his hand.

"Kill me Sasuke!" Itachi yelled. "Prove to me you've gotten stronger! Don't make the death of our family a waste."

Sasuke's anger boiled over, and with a loud battle cry he plunged the kunai deep into Itachi's chest.

"Sasuke-san!" Yuki cried running towards him.

"Don't worry Yuki." He said wiping the blood from his eyes. "It's over…my…revenge is complete."

"Not yet." Itachi coughed as he slid down the bark of the tree, leaving a trail of blood behind him. "I have something to tell you Sasuke."

_Flashback_

"_Madara we can't." Itachi said softly as the two cousins waited._

"_Itachi!" The other Uchiha's cold commanding voice bit out. "Stop being a baby."_

_Itachi wrung his hands nervously, looking around for anyone that could possibly over hear._

"_The Hokage is going to have us all killed." Madara said, venom in his voice. "Imagine, the great Uchiha clan, gone…"_

"_Madara." Itachi said again. "If that's the case then what's the point of this plan?"_

"_If this plan works out, Itachi there will still be some Uchiha's left." Madara sighed in frustration at his cousins puzzled look. "You and me moron!"_

_There was a pause between the two young men, before Itachi spoke again._

"_Alright, what is it I have to do?" he asked._

"_Just kill everyone in the clan, then we can leave and restart our clan from scratch!" Madara said. "Keeping the bloodline…pure."_

"_Everyone!" Itachi cried out in alarm. "Father…? Mother! Even…"_

"_Yes, even Sasuke." Madara replied sternly._

_Another long pause fell over the two before Itachi sighed and looked into his cousins eyes._

"_I won't do it." He answered. "I won't kill my little brother."_

"_Itachi!" Madara snapped again. "So weak! So useless!"_

"_I- I won't do it…unless you let Sasuke live as well." Itachi stated firmly._

_Madara sighed in exasperation before nodding. _

"_Fine! Fine! He can live, but remember." He said grinning. "He doesn't know the plan, just think what he'll say when he finds out his precious brother killed the entire family."_

"_He'll say nothing," Itachi said standing rigid. "It's what's best for you, it's what's best for me…its what's best…for Sasuke."_

_End flashback_

"There's another Uchiha alive?" Sasuke asked stunned.

"Yes." Itachi said was blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. "Madara lied. The Hokage didn't want the clan dead, they asked for only one Uchiha head. And that was Madara. He was sentenced to death after selling secrets to the Raikage. After what I did I could never forgive myself. I wanted to die, that's why I begged you so many years ago, to kill me."

"Itachi." Sasuke said forlornly.

"Listen to me Sasuke!" Itachi said, making sure that the young mans eyes were on him. "You need to become stronger, in order to defeat Madara. After I die…you will receive the mangekyou sharringan. Use it to destroy him and avenge our family. But don't forget," he said with one last shuddering breath. "You mustn't let the Uchiha name, or pride die."

Itachi's body went limp and Sasuke was now the second to last Uchiha. A tear slid down his cheek as he silently watched the corpse of his brother. Yuki placed a hand on his shoulder, silently reassuring him that everything would be all right.

---Page break---

Naruto, Matsuri and Kasumi rushed out after their friends but stopped when they heard an obnoxious female voice.

"Children shouldn't be running around unsupervised." Konan's voice echoed around them. "It looks like I'll have to play babysitter again, don't worry I'll be there in a moment. Then we can have a nice game of tag, with Kunai."

Matsuri paled and Kasumi noticed. She bounded over to her quickly and began ushering her into the bushes.

"Okay Matsuri." Kasumi said pushing her down into a crouching position. "Hide here and watch , if it looks like we need help, go get someone, okay?"

However the girl did not respond. Kasumi snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Matsuri!" Kasumi said seriously. "I need you to promise me that you'll go find help if we need it."

"I p-promise." She said blinking at her.

"Alright, now duck down and hide." Kasumi said before turning away and running back towards Naruto.

"Matsuri's in a safe place?" Naruto asked.

"Of course." Kasumi answered confidently.

"Ah if it isn't the daughter of the lord of fire and the container of the nine-tailed fox."

Konan said stepping out from the shadows. "This should be fun."

"You're the daughter of the lord of fire!?" Naruto cried.

"You're the vessel for the nine tailed fox!?" Kasumi shouted.

"Now now children," Konan chided. "Fighting isn't permitted."

A large origami dragon came form seemingly nowhere and dove at them. The two ninja looked at each other and began to run.

"Why are we running?" Naruto asked.

"So we don't die!" Kasumi snapped.

"Okay! Geez no need to get testy!" Naruto replied.

After a moment of silence Naruto smacked his head in utter frustration. With one quick movement he preformed the shadow clone jutsu.

"What are you doing?" Kasumi cried as he and his clones turned and prepared to attack.

"It's made out of paper right?" he asked.

"Yeah." Kasumi said stopping to watch as the dragon got closer.

"Then why don't we just cut it." He said, every single Naruto pulled out a kunai.

"DON'T!" Kasumi cried, dragging him away. "I've fought this thing before, if you cut it, it just multiplies!"

The two ninja began to run again, leading the dragon in large circles.

"I'm sick of running!" Naruto growled. "There has to be a way to destroy it!"

Kasumi's eyes widened as she saw him stop running, a large smile on his face as he formed a clone.

"No Naruto!" Kasumi cried.

However the blonde ignored her using his trademark move Rasengan he was able to destroy the dragon in a single hit.

"Ha! I did it!" Naruto beamed.

"Shame on you children!" Konan smirked. "You went and broke your toy! I'm afraid I'll have to put you in time out."

Kasumi watched closely as the petals of the paper rose in her hair began to open and a large cage made of paper fell around them.

"Aww crap!" Naruto cursed. "Now how are we going to get out."

"Wait." Kasumi said pulling a kunai out.

"Don't cut it!" Naruto said.

"Why not?" Kasumi asked. "It's not like it can multiply!"

"Your right…" Naruto trailed off. "Cut it! Cut it!"

With a swift movement she had cut through four of the flimsy paper bars. However they quickly mended themselves and the cage shrank.

"Naughty naughty." Konan said. "Trying to escape from time out. Too bad that the cage only opens from the outside."

"Ok, so we shouldn't cut our way out." Naruto said.

"Your right." Kasumi sighed.

"We should make things a little more interesting." Konan said. "Every breath you take will shrink the cage. The paper may look flimsy but I assure you, it will cut as well as any blade."

Konan walked over to a large tree and watched the proceedings from a low hanging branch.

"Oh well we've just put ourselves in a cluster fu…" Naruto began.

"Don't you even finish that sentence." Kasumi snapped. "I may be a ninja but I was still raised with manners!"

"Is it just me or did this cage get a little form fitting?" Naruto as the cage closed further in on them.

"How are we going to get out of this mess?" Kasumi asked, gasping as the cage sliced a piece of her shoe off and drawing the paper blades closer.

They were silent and trying to hold their breath so that the cage wouldn't advance any further.

"I've got it!" Kasumi cried throwing the kunai that was still in her hand out side the bars. "Matsuri! Help!"

From her spot in the bushes Matsuri couldn't help the tears running down her face. Flashes of her parents dieing ran through her head.

'_Stop it Matsuri!'_ she berated herself. _'Your nakama (comrades), your friends…they need you!'_

She reached out a shaking hand but pulled back when she saw her mother's dead eyes staring back at her in shock.

'_Come on Matsuri…be brave.'_

"It looks like this is the end." Kasumi said, her back pressed up against Naruto's.

"Don't worry Matsuri!" Naruto said, wincing as another paper blade sliced into his flesh. "We understand."

"It's ok." Kasumi echoed, holding her breath as she saw a blade pressed against Naruto's neck.

Matsuri burst from the bushes and trees, grabbing the kunai she ran around the cage slicing all the bars as she went. Naruto and Kasumi sighed in relief before rushing over to Matsuri who was kneeling on the ground shaking, the kunai on the ground in front of her. Kasumi wrapped an arm around the girl and reassured her as Naruto began proclaiming how brave she was.

"Ahh so we have a new playmate." Konan said. "I'll have fun torturing you."

A green blur went by and soon standing in front of the three ninja's was Gai, Kakashi, and Lee. In Kakashi's hand sat the paper rose.

"No!" Konan cried in alarm.

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "I know what the true source of your power really is."

Slowly the Chidori began to form in his hand.

"I'll make sure you never blacken the earth with your presence again." He dashed forward and struck the stunned Konan in the chest, killing her instantly.

Matsuri watched in silence, and in a few moments she picked up the kunai and put it in her pocket.

"Matsuri, you don't have to…" Kasumi began.

"I know." She said turning and smiling. "But I'm okay now."

"Your parent's, would be proud." Kakashi stated leading them away from the smoldering corpse.

---Page break---

"Poor poor Hinata." The leader repeated for the fourth time.

"Shut up," she hissed through gritted teeth.

For once she was glad she hadn't followed tradition and under her elaborate wedding kimono she wore her black training clothes. She blinked, avoiding activating her Byakugan in order to preserve her chakra. She gasped in shock once she reopened her eyes as the leader loomed over her. He placed a rough hand on her cheek and let his fingers run roughly over the fresh scar still open on her forehead.

"I see you put that Kunai I gave you to some use." He chuckled as she flinched away from him.

Getting into a fighting stance a new feeling overwhelmed her, blood pumped through her veins and a strange energy ran through her every limb.

'_See Hinata'_ her demon hissed. _`We aren't meant for a life of house work.'_

Her mind began to go blank and a strange primeval thoughts were about to take action when a flash of red and aquamarine across her vision.

"Gaara!" Hinata gasped, before turning to see "I told you to get out of here! I told you to run!"

Gaara shook his head sternly and stood in a ready position to fight.

"This battle…" Hinata said, tears brimming in her eyes. "You won't be able to win…you'll d-d-die."

Silently the Kazekage approached her and held her cheeks gently in his hands before he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on one of her cheeks.

"I will never." He began before pausing and placing another kiss on her other cheek. "Ever." Pausing again to kiss the scar on her forehead. "Leave you." He pressed their noses together and gazed deeply into Hinata's pearly eyes.

"How sentimental," the leader said, rolling his eyes. "But Hinata-chan, this is your last chance. Do you remember what I offered you?"

Hinata turned toward the other red haired man and bit her lip as her head screamed go for it while her heart still rejected the idea. Gaara glanced at the Hyuuga before grasping her hand, even though he didn't know what they were talking about, letting her know that he was with her no matter what her decision was. Slowly her eyes drifted closed but quickly reopened the determination to beat him shining strong, and the veins around her eyes becoming more prominent.

"Never," was the only word she uttered, as she slid back into her fighting stance.

The leader simply shrugged and got ready to fight as well. Gaara, Hinata, and the leader clashed for a long ten minutes, none of them landed a hit on the other. Gaara fell back at that point, breathing heavier then he ever had before. His heart beat erratically in his chest and he fell to his knee to catch his breath.

"Gaara!" Hinata cried falling back and grasping the red heads shoulders.

"I'm fine," he answered, trying to stand up, but his knees became weak and he fell.

Hinata pulled him onto her lap and tried to get him to stop fighting, but the red head refused. The leader grew tired of waiting and walked over to the couple and lifted the red head from the dark haired girls grasp. Without hesitation he threw the boy away from them and into the surrounding forest. Hinata's eyes watered as she heard the bark of the trees splinter beneath the Kazekage's body. She leapt to her feet and launched her body in a fit of Taijutsu moves that the leader blocked while laughing. He finally got tired of blocking and instead knocked her to the ground. Jumping to her feet again, she glared.

"You picked the wrong day to mess with me!" she cried as she began to summon the demons power.

Her once pale and creamy eyes turned a light red and whiskers sprouted from her cheeks as her ears became like a cats and her teeth turned to fangs.

"Now Hinata-chan that's not fair," the leader said, in yet the smug smirk was still on his face. "Well at least I brought help this time."

He brought out a strange whistle, whittled out of bone; placing it tenderly to his lips he blew on it hard. Hinata grasped tightly onto her ears praying to block the high-pitched noise that was driving her crazy. Finally he pulled the whistle away and watched in smug satisfaction as Hinata let her arms fall to her sides. Her eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to say something when a loud rumbling roar filled the air and shook the trees around them. The Hyuuga held her arms up in a cross block to keep herself from flying backwards due to the sheer force of the roar. Gasping, she caught sight of what the leader had called with his piercing whistle. Shukaku stood, towering over them in all his glory, but instead of his normal black and yellow, his eyes were now a vibrant red. With a signal from the leader the large demon stopped.

"Now I have Shukaku on my side." Pein smiled maliciously.

Hinata was at a loss of what to do, she lifted her hand to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming. It was then she realized her hand was covered in red chakra that was slowly leaking out of her. Her body became weak and heavier then she ever remembered it being. The red chakra began pooling next to her and slowly building up. It was then she realized that the reason why she was feeling so weak was because her demons chakra was leaving her. It had been over a year since she had felt this weak, this useless, because of her demon she hadn't felt the need to over exert herself or train constantly. Now she realized she was paying for it, as she fell to her knees as the last bit of her demon's chakra left her. Next to her stood a large red chakra form of her demon, it stood on two of it's legs using it's arms to block and throw a few blows. Without a seconds hesitation it lunged at the Shukaku and the battle between the demons commenced.

"That should be impossible." Pein said astounded as the two monsters continues to fight.

"It's n-not." Hinata said getting to her feet. "Because it wasn't sealed inside of me."

"Strange how the leaf village would leave something so powerful unsealed. "The leader said.

"They don't know about it." Hinata whispered.

The leader nodded pensively before looking back at her.

"I'm afraid Hinata-chan I will need that demon back from you now." Pein said.

He appeared before her in an instant landing a hard punch to her gut and a kick to the side. Hinata was thrown backwards and she choked on the blood that began to rise from her throat. Gaara who had barely risen to his feet grabbed her before she could hit the ground, but the momentum sent both teens a few feet backwards. Gaara gently placed Hinata down on the ground before limping towards the leader of the Akatsuki, planning to do something. When Hinata regained consciousness she saw Gaara struggling against the leader in taijutsu. A hard kick to Gaara's chest sent the red head backwards and Pein began handsigns for a new jutsu. Looking around Hinata noticed that the two demons were still struggling, their large forms going closer and closer to the village. Her byakugan caught sight of the leader finishing his jutsu. Gaara was still on the ground, blood flowing steadily from the wound on his chest. Hinata sprang to her feet and ignored the pain that rocketed through her body as she ran to where the Kazekage was. Knowing that this blast would finish her Hinata threw herself in front of Gaara just as the large blast was shot at them. A strange tingly feeling spread through her body, cracking open one of her eyes she was met with a giant mass of red chakra. Confused, she spun in a full circle. Red surrounded her, so she realized that the demon didn't just protect her, she was inside it. Reactivating her byakugan she watched in wonderment the flows of chakra around her. Filling a few finger with her own chakra she poked one of the thousands of chakra points that surrounded her.

"Don't do that again." a loud voice roared in her ears.

"H-hai!" Hinata squeaked quickly.

Leaning in closer to the chakra she realized she could see through the chakra. Gaara sat on the ground in front of the demon, looking into the large chakra body. She waved at him, and slowly the red head waved back. She sighed, glad that he could see her and that she could see him. But a look of horror soon overcame her face as she saw the leader approach him. Quickly, fumbling a bit with the clasp she pulled out the kunai with the sutra attached. The chakra around her tightened and squeezed causing pain to erupt in every crevice of her body.

"Put that away!" her demon hissed in pain.

With struggling hands Hinata put the kunai back in her pouch. The chakra let up and the demon began to attack the Shukaku once again.

"Wait!" Hinata cried. "Protect Gaara! Please!"

"If he cannot protect himself then he deserves to die." the demon grunted as it continued to strike out at the Shukaku.

"If you wont protect him I'll take out the kunai again!" Hinata threatened her voice stern.

The demon gave a quivering sigh as it dropped it's guard to lift the Kazekage. After rushing away further into the forest the demon put Gaara down. The red head stood and tried to go with the demon back to the fight but Hinata signaled for him to stay, resorting to begging before he sat down like he was told. A few leaps and they were back to where the battle was, the leader stood next to the shukaku, petting it's leg as if it were his pet.

"It seems as if it is now two against two." Pein said looking straight at Hinata even though his veiw of her was clouded by the chakra. "But I'm sorry to say that I have the advantage."

His body began to meld with Shukaku being pulled into it's large mass but still his harsh voice continued with it's speech getting hysteric.

"Once I am absorbed into the Shukaku I will become the Shukaku! I will become the ultimate being! The ultimate monster!" Pein cried. "I will become invincible."

His mad cackle was silenced as he disappeared into the creature. Hinata's thoughts were interrupted when the walls of chakra around her shook from the force of one of Shukaku's newly enhanced attacks.

"Kit!" the demon cried as another powerful strike knock her off balance. "If you don't find a way to destroy him I wont be able to save you, let alone your precious Kazekage."

Hinata looked around frantically trying to formulate a plan. The leader took the place of the Shukaku's heart, if that was the case then if she could kill the leader then she would be able to stop the Shukaku. How the hell was she supposed to get through the thick outer layer of the demons chest? Her hands fell to her sides and her fingers brushed against her kunai pouch. The Kunai with the sutra might be able to cut through the large body of sand, it was a stretch but it was worth a try. But how was she going to get to his chest? Looking up the answer came to her, as well as a long forgotten memory.

_flashback_

_It was the middle of summer and Hinata sat contently underneath the large sakura tree in the backyard of the Hyuuga compound. She played idly with her dolls, not a care in the world until she heard the cry from inside._

_"Hinata-san! He's coming!" her nurse called from inside._

_Hinata leapt to her feet and began to climb up the almost perfectly smooth bark of the tree. She had no idea why but climbing trees seemed to be her only talent. It was her place to hide when her father was on one of his drunken rampages which is why the bark on the tree had been stripped in order to prevent her from climbing. However nothing they tried ever stopped her. Within seconds she was up the tree. Her father came stumbling towards it a few moments later._

_"Hinata!" his drunken voice slurred. "Get down here NOW!"_

_He had been having a drinking problem ever since Hizashi's death and it was sad to say he was an abusive drunk. He seemed to take all his anger and strength out on poor Hinata. After his desperate cry Hinata pushed against the trunk of the tree in order to hide herself further. Her father only became more angry and tried to scramble up the tree using his chakra. The young girl climbed even higher in order to avoid confrontation with her father. After sliding down the bark a few times he gave up and stormed inside. Later her mother would come and get her, coaxing her down from the tree, assuring that everything was okay and that her father would apologize. As they would walk back inside her mother would make an idle comment about how amazing she was, being able to climb smooth trees without an ounce of chakra. Hinata would barely listen thinking on other things. Her father never did apologize._

_end flashback_

Pulling the kunai from her pouch she grasped the steel between her teeth ignoring the demons pained hisses. Looking closer at the chakra in front of her she realized with much delight and relief that instead of a solid wall of chakra it was more like thousands of strings. Without anymore hesitation Hinata began to climb up the inside of the demon. Halfway up the body shook and the kunai cut through a bunch of chakra strings causing Hinata to slid down a few feet. After regaining her footing she continued to climb until she reached the arm. She ran down the arm until she reached the fingers, taking the kunai from her mouth.

"Alright." Hinata spoke for the first time in a little over a half an hour. "I need you to punch Shukaku in the chest as hard as you can."

The demon nodded before pulling it's fist back in preparation, with one last powerful thrust the demon punched Shukaku in the chest. Hinata then used the kunai to cut through the large red fist of her demon. It roared in pain but Hinata only focused on cutting through Shukaku's chest. To her surprise the kunai helped push through the chest easily however once she entered the body of this demon she found she couldn't breathe, only realizing now that the demon of the sand was made of sand. It felt as if her body was floating and her sensitive skin was lightly scratched as the sand shifted around her. She began to swim through the sand, using the kunai to cut through it at the same time. After what seemed like hours Hinata finally was able to see the leader. She got closer and tried to strike him with the kunai however the red haired man caught her arm. Struggling in his grasp Hinata was almost helpless as the leader turned the kunai on her. She had one last hope, something she learned in self-defense class when she was merely a child. Bracing herself Hinata gave a powerful kick, right in between the leaders legs. The mans eyes widened and his grip on the kunai loosened, Hinata wrenched the blade free from his grasp and shoved it deep into his chest.

---Page Break---

Gaara ran to where the battle was, his chest heaving, as he watched in astonishment as the great demon Shukaku began to fall to the ground. A large wave of sand rushed at him quickly but Gaara began to use it as a shield and let the larger amounts of sand pass over him. Once he was sure that no more sand was coming he let his barrier fall as he ran to Hinata and Pein who both lie in the sand next to each other.

"Hinata!" He cried as he slid to his knees.

Realizing that she probably swallowed some sand he forced his chakra into her body and infused it with the sand before pulling it out, little by little. Finally it was all gone and Hinata let out a shuddered breath. He lifted her head and cradled her against his chest rocking back and forth slightly.

"Is it gone?" Hinata asked weakly, not noticing the red chakra of her demon flooding back into her.

Gaara nodded and smiled slightly, but his smile disappeared as he saw the leader begin to move. Laying Hinata back down he stood and looked down on the leader who was still struggling to stay alive.

"I should let you die there." Gaara spat. "Slow and painful."

The leader laughed a few flecks of blood staining his lips. Gaara's eyes narrowed as he glared at the man, not noticing that the leader had wrenched the kunai from his chest.

"But you must let me give her a goodbye gift." he said.

Gaara could only watch in horror as Pein leaned over and jabbed the kunai in Hinata's abdomen. The Hyuuga writhed before becoming limp. The Kazekage kicked the leader in the head with a vicious cry but the man was already dead. He lifted Hinata into his arms again and began to limp back toward the village praying that Hinata would be okay.

---Page Break---

Tobi sat atop the Hokage monument swinging his legs back and forth in a child like fashion as Zetsu stood next to him.

"Like rats in a cage." Tobi said brightly as the great Shukaku crumbled.

"I feel Itachi's presence waning." Zetsu said. "Traitor?"

"No," Tobi said. "I'm pretty sure, little Sasuke killed him."

"Kakazu's presence is gone, Hidan's is scattered, and what little I could feel of Konan's is gone." Zetsu continued.

"Looks like we're all that's left Zetsu-san." Tobi said.

"Well what do we do now, Tobi-sama?" he asked.

"We start from scratch." He said standing and stretching

He pulled off his mask and let his sharringan eyes comb over the leaf village one last time before turning towards Zetsu again and smiling.

"From now on Zetsu-san, you can call me Madara"

---Page break---

"Kankurou-san," one elder spoke. "This is your last chance to turn back."

"Nah, I'm good." Kankurou said cockily.

"You know that elder hood means abstinence." Another spoke.

"Huh?" Kankurou said puzzled.

"It means no sex. EVER." One explained.

"I'm good with that." Kankurou said.

"It also means you may not get married." A female elder said.

Kankurou looked over at Rikku, after a moment of staring at each other she nodded. He turned back to the elders, not being able to hide his silent pain.

"I understand." He answered.

"Then you are now officially an elder." The head elder spoke. "And now, due to popular request the vote about whether Kazekage Gaara-sama and Hinata Hyuuga-sama should be able to marry is open."

**A/N: Last chapter will be out tomorrow. I'm sorry it took so long! Family issues. Please review like the good people you are!**


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N: Alright! This is the FINAL chapter. Yes, this story is now finished, however there will be a sequel. The preview for it will be added at the end of this story. But in order to take a break from GaaraXHinata I'll be writing a short story about Hinata and Sasuke. It will be AU but it's just to take a break. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto it wouldn't be called Naruto it would be called Hinata and everyone would love her.**

**Chapter: 51**

Hinata woke up as the soft rays of the sun gently fluttered across her face. She looked around the dirty hotel room. Natsu slept with her head at Hinata's feet, her new prosthetic leg hanging off the bed. Temari was sleeping on a reclining armchair, her unopened bottle of wine hanging in her hand. Kurenai was passed out on the table. Sora, Rikku, and Kasumi were laying in a pile on pillows spread across the floor. Their limbs splayed hap hazardly but they seemed to still be cautious around Rikku's bulging pregnant belly. Yuki was leaning against the window, stoic even in her sleep.

She giggled and slid out of bed, sliding on some shoes and walking out the door. People waved and greeted her with smiling faces. No one looking at her strangely even though she was walking around in her P.J's. She slowly climbed up the Hokage monument planning on visiting her father's grave. However when she got there she was surprised to see a familiar person praying at her fathers resting place.

"Kazekage-sama!" she said gasping in surprise.

The red head turned to look at her before turning back and standing.

"Hello Hyuuga-san." He said formally. "How is your morning?"

"Well, it was such a lovely day I couldn't stop myself from coming outside immediately and sharing it with my father." She answered walking past him and kneeling at her father's grave.

"But it's overcast." Gaara commented, looking at the spongy gray sky in distaste.

"I know," she said smiling brightly. "But I'm positive that it'll get better."

"Your positive?" he asked,

She merely nodded and turned back to her father before clasping her hands together and praying. Gaara watched her for a few minutes before turning back to the ashen sky and was not at all shocked when he saw the sun and a patch of blue had pushed itself away from the other ominous clouds. He smiled and shook his head, turning in time to see Hinata finish praying.

"Would you allow me to escort you back to the Hyuuga manor?" Gaara asked like a gentlemen.

"Of course." Hinata said.

They both walked down the Hokage monument and through the streets of Konoha in silence. However it was broken when the Kazekage spoke.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked.

Hinata automatically touched her stomach where a scar was still present from the leader. She looked at him questioningly but Gaara shook his head no, and gently pushed her bangs away and let his hand trail over the Kanji of love still etched into her forehead. Smiling she realized what he meant.

"No, not anymore." She said softly closing her eyes as he dropped his hand back to his side.

The shadow of the Hyuuga manor loomed over them and both ninja stopped. Gaara turned and bowed to her as she did to him before she began walking through the gate.

"I will see you later I suppose?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Hinata nodded definitely.

The red head turned and walked away arms crossed. Hinata giggled before entering her house.

"Hello I'm home." Hinata called.

Hanabi poked her head out of the kitchen and gave her sister a small smile.

"Ohayo nee-san." Hanabi said softly.

"Ohayo Hanabi-chan." Hinata replied back grinning.

"Natsu-san is already here." Hanabi said. "Her and Neji are waiting in the tea room."

"Hai, Arigotou." Hinata said pulling of her shoes. "Is there anyone else here?"

"No nee-san." Hanabi answered quickly.

"Hey who's nobody?" Konohamaru asked wrapping his arms around Hanabi's waist.

Hanabi blushed crimson while Konohamaru laughed, Hinata only smiled softly.

"Alright, go ahead and go back to whatever it was you were doing…" Hinata said. "But remember the wedding starts soon."

She walked slowly to the tearoom and using her Byakugan peeked inside. Natsu and Neji were staring at each other both smiling. Slowly Natsu leaned forward to kiss Neji, whose face turned red. Hinata remembered that feeling and knew what was going to happen. Deciding to spare her cousin the humiliation she slid open the door making Natsu fall back with a squeak.

"Hinata w-what…It wasn't what it looked like!" Neji excused his face turning a deeper shade of red.

"Actually," Natsu said sitting up and leaning on the table, eyeing Neji warily. "It was exactly what it looked like."

Then it happened, Neji the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, the most stoic unemotional man Hinata had ever met in her life, only second to her father when it came to the intimidation factor…fainted.

---Page Break---

"I'm here!" Temari cried, bursting into the tearoom.

She was taken aback when she found the Hyuuga genius being fanned as he lay on the table.

"What happened to him?" Temari asked.

"He fainted." Hinata answered.

"Why?" Temari asked.

"I…tried to kiss him." Natsu said embarrassed.

Temari laughed long and hard but soon stopped as the Hyuuga male stirred. She pulled Hinata to her feet and began to drag her out of the room..

"Come on Hinata." She said. "The wedding starts in a few hours."

Hinata nodded and looked over at Natsu who continued to kneel next to Neji, running her fingers through his long hair.

"Natsu-chan." Hinata said, scaring and embarrassing the girl.

"Yes Hinata?" she asked.

"Come and help when ever you get the chance." She smiled and left.

Natsu leaned over and looked at Neji who seemed serene in his unconscious state.

"You know." He mumbled scaring Natsu and making her jump back. "I don't think that this prince will wake up without a kiss from his princess."

Natsu giggled and leaned over him again, lifting one of his eyelids and grinning.

"Actually mister Hyuuga I think you got the characters mixed up. The prince is the one who kisses the princess to wake her up from her eternal slumber." Natsu said.

Neji twitched slightly and his face burned but his eyes remained closed making Natsu smile even more.

"Oh no!" She spoke dramatically. "My beautiful princess has fallen into a deep sleep, what should I do?"

"Are you going to kiss me or not!?" Neji growled.

"Of course!" Natsu said leaning foreword so that her breath flitted across his already warm cheeks. "I couldn't possibly let my princess down."

Neji pouted and cracked open an eye just in time to see Natsu's eyes close as she began closing the distance between them. However their joining wasn't meant to be as the door to the tearoom slid open to reveal Ayame, Anko, and Genma. Natsu squealed and landed hard on her butt. Neji sat up too quickly and immediately passed out again.

"What's going on here?" Anko asked suggestively.

"It looked like they were going to kiss to me." Ayame giggled.

"Care to say anything Natsu?" Genma asked.

"Thanks to you guys my princess will never wake up." Natsu said crossing her arms.

The three jounin only laughed.

---Page Break---

Hinata tugged at the sleeves of the pale yellow under kimono she was wearing, making sure a belt full of weapons was around her waist securely. Looking over her shoulder she saw her mothers lavender wedding Kimono that would soon be hers. A knock on her door broke her from her reverie.

"Hinata! Do you have your under Kimono on so I can help you get your outer kimono on?" Temari asked through the door.

"No…" She called walking over to her wardrobe and reached in, changing her under kimono to an off white one she quickly called Temari in.

"Hinata I thought you were wearing the pale yellow with the lavender wedding kimono." Temari asked.

"I've changed my mind." Hinata said reaching in to her closet and pulling out a different kimono making Temari's eyes water.

"You…want to wear that one?" she asked sniffling.

"Of course." Hinata said resting her hands on Temari's shoulders.

The blonde hugged her tightly before setting to work. She helped tie the obi around Hinata's small waist and made sure the kimono was situated properly. The Hyuuga looked in the mirror at her reflection and was astounded.

"Do you think it looks okay on me?" Hinata asked nervously.

"It looks gorgeous." Temari patted her on the shoulders. "I'll go now and be the bitchy maid of honor so that everything's perfect okay?"

"Wait!" Hinata called.

"Yeah?" Temari asked.

"Don't forget the finishing touch!" Hinata said smiling and holding out the white gold locket Temari had given her.

"How could I forget." She smiled clasping it around Hinata's neck. "I'll go get Ino and Sakura, they'll be excited to do your makeup!"

"No wait!" Hinata called once more.

"What is it now?" Temari asked exasperated.

"Don't let them touch my hair or make up!" Hinata said. "Could you get Kurenai? She was always like a mother to me."

"Of course." Temari smiled and disappeared out the door.

In moments Kurenai came in, cradling tiny baby Asuma. She looked up at her old student and smiled widely.

"Look at you, gorgeous as ever." Kurenai said softly. "Kiba and Shino wanted to come in but I refused, let them in later when we're done so they won't complain alright?"

"Hai…sensei." Hinata said taking her adopted nephew from her teacher's arms and laying him gently on the floor on a clean white blanket.

"Arigotou Hinata." Kurenai said. "You are the daughter I've always wanted. Doing the brides makeup on the wedding day is traditionally the mothers job…but."

"Kurenai-sensei you're the closest thing I have to a mother, without you I would have never made it this far."

"Alright then," Kurenai smiled. "Lets get started."

---Page break---

Shino and Kiba sat patiently outside Hinata's door waiting for their sensei to give them the okay to go in. Kiba glanced at his watch and growled, the wedding started in half an hour!

"Calm yourself Kiba." Shino said calmly. "She's almost done and will be out in a moment."

"How do you know?" Kiba asked looking at him warily. "Aww man you didn't!"

"I am merely doing it for Hinata's, Kurenai's, and Asuma's safety." Shino excused while pushing up his sunglasses.

"But still that's just creepy and gross!" Kiba cried.

"Kiba-kun." Hinata's voice came from behind them. "Shino-kun's bugs aren't gross or creepy." Before they could look up at her, a pale hand holding three kikachu bugs in her hand. "They are beautiful and a sign that shows Shino cares."

"Arigotou Hinata." Shino said as the three bugs flew onto their master's face and disappeared under his collar.

"Ow! Kiba cried as Hinata pulled something out of Kiba's hair.

"See." She said holding out another one. "You have one to!"

Kiba looked at it a moment before Shino held out his hand and took it from Hinata. The dog boy grinned and wrapped an arm around Shino's neck dragging the boy toward him.

"I love you to man." Kiba said.

"Let go of me." Shino grumbled.

"Now now you two don't argue." Kurenai said.

Both boys stood up and Kiba gasped as he caught sight of his old female teammate.

"W-wow." He stuttered.

"You look beautiful Hinata." Shino said.

Kiba still stood next to him choking on his words. Shino elbowed him and he was finally able to squeak out a ditto. Hinata giggled, making sure not to ruin her make up. Her face was covered in a thin layer of pale powder, giving her a healthy glow her own natural blush warmed up her cheeks. A little light lipstick was worn and she had light lavender eye shadow.

"Alright boys enough gawking we have to get Hinata down stairs." Kurenai stated.

They all walked down stairs Hinata sandwiched in between Kiba and Shino, Kurenai following them. Letting go of their arms Hinata began to walk to the tearoom where her and her brides maids would be waiting. But before she could walk away Shino caught her arm.

"Yes what is it, Shino-kun?" she asked.

"Kurenai, Kiba and I pitched in to get you a gift." He replied pulling out a medium sized box.

"Arigotou Shino-kun, but you didn't have to get me anything." Hinata said hugging him.

"I want you to open it now." Shino said.

"Yeah open it now." Kiba said.

Hinata looked at her teacher who nodded, she ripped the wrapping paper off the box and gasped at what was inside. She picked up the white gold crown and felt the tears gathering in her eyes. Kurenai handed Asuma to Shino and walked over to Hinata, placing the crown lightly on her head. Hinata practically tackled Kurenai in a hug.

"Arigotou okaa-san." She mumbled so only Kurenai could hear.

Kurenai let a single tear fall into Hinata's hair. She pulled away and before Hinata could suffocate Kiba and Shino with hugs Kurenai pulled her away and turned her towards the tearoom.

"You better get going, we'll see you at the reception." Kurenai said.

Hinata nodded and disappeared into the tearoom.

---Page Break---

"Alright we'll be walking outside in a moment Hinata-chan." Natsu said grabbing the smaller versions of Hinata's bouquet and passing them out to the awaiting girls.

"Hinata-san, I apologize." Yuki said after receiving her bouquet. "But I will not be at the reception of your wedding. Sasuke has a new mission; he has to go after his last remaining family member and has asked me to come with him. I'll be leaving right after the wedding."

"So will I." Sora said waving. "Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin will be going as well, and I can't let my partner down."

"That's okay." Hinata said smiling.

The bride's maids filed out, but Hinata grabbed Rikku's hand before she could walk out.

"You don't have to go to my reception either, I owe you and Kankurou so much already, I don't want you to suffer by seeing what you lost out on." Hinata said softly.

Rikku patted her hand gently and shook her head before placing a hand on her distended belly.

"I'll be okay, besides, before Kankurou became an elder this little baby was made." Rikku smiled.

Hinata nodded and turned away, feeling nervous and anxious all at the same time. Rikku noticed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready to try for a happy ending again?" Rikku asked.

Hinata turned and nodded smiling.

---Page Break---

Neji linked arms with his cousin as the wedding march began. Hinata looked nervously over at him.

"Ni-san are you mad at me?" Hinata asked.

"Of course not, why would I be mad?" he asked.

"Because I'm not wearing my mothers wedding kimono." Hinata said softly.

"No, besides I think this one suits you better." Neji said. "Are you ready?"

Hinata nodded and the doors opened. The backyard gardens of the Hyuuga compound had chairs lined along a cobble stone path where the groom, and the rest of the wedding

precession stood. They took a few steps together but froze as Hinata heard clapping and cheering from a seat on her left.

"Woo! Go Hinata!" Kankurou cheered.

She blushed a bit and continued walking, Neji kissed her on the cheek before stepping back as she turned and faced her groom. The ceremony was long and finally the vows came.

"Hyuuga Hinata, heiress to the Hyuuga clan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Hinata stared into the bright happy blue eyes before her and couldn't help but smile.

"I do."

"You may kiss the bride."

They merely pecked each other as the entire crowed clapped and cheered. Natsu began crying from her spot on the alter; watching as Hinata practically glowed as Sakura blossoms littered her hair. In moments the bride and groom disappeared, heading over to the old training grounds for the reception in the large tent that was set up there.

---Page Break---

Hinata giggled as she ran through the trees, letting the pale blue light of the moon guide her to a familiar waterfall. Two strong arms grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to the ground. They both laughed and lay in each other's arms staring up at the moon.

"Thank you." He said.

"For what?" she asked, looking over at her husband.

"For wearing my mothers kimono." He said kissing the top of her head. "You don't know how much it means to me."

"It was my honor, Kazekage-sama." Hinata said, running her hands through his red hair and gave him a soft kiss.

---Page Break---

"Natsu, have you've seen my cousin?" Neji asked.

"Her and the groom ran off somewhere together." Natsu said standing.

"If he touches her I swear…" Neji trailed off.

"Aww leave them alone!" she whined. "Their married now."

"And you can pay for your prosthetic leg in full." Neji commented. "So you should be happy." He grumbled.

"Aww would you like to dance grumpy pants?" Natsu teased.

"No!" He said pouting.

"Come here you big baby!" she said pulling him up by the collar of his shirt and crashing their lips together before letting him go.

Neji stumbled back, cheeks red and his eyes glazed over making Natsu laugh.

"Dance?" she asked again.

He nodded and Natsu grabbed his hand before leading him to the dance floor.

---Page break---

"Do you think that skipping our own reception is bad?" Hinata asked.

"No." Gaara said.

"But what if people are looking for us?" she asked.

"They can ask lord Hokage." Gaara answered. "Naruto was the one who suggested it anyway."

"You're right," Hinata sighed. "Let him worry about it."

Gaara wrapped his arms around her more tightly and closed his eyes, resting for the first time in years.

"Hey Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Hmm?" he asked wearily.

"What happens now?" she asked, her voice curious.

He sat up a little and looked into her eyes, before leaning down and giving her a kiss.

"We live happily ever after."

**A/N: Okay guys, this is the end. The preview of the sequel will be the last and final chapter. **


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: Okay here's the preview for the sequel. I'm going to do it like a movie coming attraction because that's the only way I can picture it. It won't be out till December 15****th****. By then there will be at least three chapters of that story ready. In the mean time I will be taking a break from my gaaraxhina madness, and be writing and AU SasukexHinata. Well here it is, the preview for the sequel to Healing Sands.**

_I never said I'd lie and wait forever_

_If I died, we'd be together_

_I can't always just forget her_

_But she could try_

Gaara entered the graveyard, Daisuki's small hand clutched in his. After walking a little ways in they both stop.

"Otou-san is it time to pray?" Daisuki asks his father.

"Hai Daisuki, it's time to pray." Gaara answered.

Daisuki nodded and got on his knees and closed his eye before beginning to pray like his father. However he activated his Byakugan so he would know when his father stopped praying. He hated coming to the graveyard, it always made him sad and tired.

---Page Break---

"Hinata." Tsunade said softly. "I don't know if your baby's going to make it." 

The former Hyuuga buried her face in Gaara's chest as she cried and cried.

"But don't give up." Tsunade said. "There is one way."

Hinata looked at her with hopeful eyes as a few more tears fell down her face.

_At the end of the world_

_Or the last thing I see_

_You are_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Could I? Should I?_

_And all the things that you never ever told me_

_And all the smiles that are ever ever..._

_Ever..._

"Anything." Hinata said. "I'll do anything."

"The surgery could cost you your life." Tsunade said. "I don't know if it will even work.

"I don't care!" Hinata cried. "I'll try anything!

---Page Break---

Gaara woke up in the middle of the night when he felt Hinata get out of bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm just checking on Daisuki." Hinata said softly.

"Alright come back to bed soon." Gaara said before falling back asleep.

---Page Break---

_Get the feeling that you're never_

_All alone and I remember now_

_At the top of my lungs in my arms she dies_

_She dies_

"Gaara, it's not healthy for you to live alone with Daisuki." Temari said. "I think you should…Hisagi don't touch that!"

Gaara turned to see his nephew drop a very expensive vase on the floor. Temari shouted one more time and made Shikamaru clean up the mess.

"Where was I?" Temari asked.

Gaara opened his mouth to speak when Temari cut him off again.

"Oh yeah, I remember." She said. "It's been over a two years. I think you should move on. Hinata's gone…she would want you to get remarried."

---Page break---

_At the end of the world_

_Or the last thing I see_

_You are_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Could I? should I?_

_And all the things that you never ever told me_

_And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Could I? Should I?_

_And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me_

_For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me_

"What happened Matsuri?" Gaara asked concerned.

"Hinata-chan asked me to come with her last night." Matsuri explained. "I didn't ask any questions, even when I saw she had Daisuki. She made me wait a long ways away but she continued to move away towards the horizon."

Gaara nodded quickly, wanting to know what happened to his wife.

"A huge jutsu was preformed and the sky changed different colors. I ran to the site as fast as I could. At the edge of a large pit of quicksand Daisuki was there, seemingly unharmed and asleep." Matsuri continued.

"What about Hinata?" Gaara asked.

"I'm sorry," Matsuri said. "She's…dead."

"How are you sure?" Gaara asked quickly.

"I saw her hand disappear into the sand." Matsuri said softly. "I'm sorry Gaara-sama."

---Page Break---

_If I fall_

_If I fall (down)_

'_Hinata, don't do it.' _Her demon hissed.

"I won't let you live in my son!" Hinata cried. "If I knew that my child would have a part of the demon that was inside me I would never…!"

'_Lies,'_ the demon whispered. _'What will you do Hinata? You have no jutsu that will seal me inside you and take the other part of me out of Daisuki.'_

"That's…where you're wrong." Hinata said pulling out a scroll.

'_Where did you get that!'_ the demon roared.

"Sasuke found it in Orochimaru's lair this will assure that you will never come back to life again." Hinata said.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before leaning over and kissing Daisuki on the forehead.

"Goodbye, Daisuki." She whispered. "Remember, mommy loves you."

She opened the scroll and began to perform the jutsu.

---Page Break---

_At the end of the world_

_Or the last thing I see_

_You are_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_And all the things that you never ever told me_

_And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me_

_Never coming home_

_Never coming home_

_Could I? Should I?_

_And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me_

Deidara ran across the desert sands, glancing back every now and then, waiting to see his pursuers. The sky turned electric blue then yellow before going a deep purple. He looked over and saw a woman fall into a large pit forming on the ground. He ran faster trying to see what was happening. The first thing he saw on the ground was a small bundle, that he soon recognized as a baby. The pit was widening and threatening to drag the baby into it. Although Deidara would always deny he had any sort of sympathy he felt a pang in his heart and moved the baby further away and out of danger.

He leaned over the pit to get a good look at the woman. Gasping he jumped into the sand and soon jumped out carry the woman on his back, having replaced her with a clone and speeding away. When he deemed where he was, was far enough he set the woman down. He moved her hair away from her face and grinned.

"It looks like you're my ticket back into the Akatsuki. Hinata-hime." Deidara said heartily before lifting her again and dashing away across the desert.

---Page Break---

Daisuki's fathers eyes opened and he stood up. The small boy deactivated his blood line limit and stood up as well. Gaara bowed to the grave and began to walk away, Daisuki following after him.

"Daisuki," he said sternly.

"Hai otou-san?" Daisuki asked confused.

"Say goodbye." Gaara said.

"Sayonara, okaa-san."

_For all the ghosts that are never gonna..._

The Ghost Of You

12.15.08


End file.
